Reworlding: The Literature of the Indian Diaspora (Contributions to the Study of World Literature) [Hardcover]

Emmanuel S. Nelson (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 031327794X | ISBN-13: 978-0313277948 | Publication Date: May 30, 1992

Adopting the concept of diaspora--literally dispersal, or the scattering of a people--to the historical and contemporary presence of people of Indian subcontinental origin in other areas of the world, Emmanuel Nelson uses this paradigm to analyze Indian expatriate writing. In Reworlding, Nelson has commissioned fourteen critical essays by as many scholars to examine major areas of the diaspora--among them Britain, the United States, Canada, Trinidad, Fiji, Singapore, East and South Africa--and prominent literary figures, including Salman Rushdie, V. S. Naipaul, Kamala Markandaya, Bharati Mukherjee, and Raja Rao. Collectively, the essays demonstrate that the various literary traditions within the Indian diaspora share certain common resonances engendered by historical connections, spiritual affinities, and racial memories. Individually, they provide challenging insights into the particular experiences and writers. At the core of the diasporic writing is the haunting presence of India and the shared anguish of personal loss that generate the aesthetics of "reworlding" underlying and unifying this body of literature. This collection will be of value to scholars and students of Indian writing in English, postcolonial writing in general, and the literature of exile and immigration.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Reworlding is a valuable work, one that is likely to remain an essential critical text for those interested in the literature of the Indian diaspora.”–The Toronto South Asian Review

“Greenwood Press and Nelson are to be congratulated for suggesting new ways of historicizing South Asian diaspora literatures and for providing a bibliographic tool for further research. All the essays in the volume are scholarly and lucid; several are enlightening and provocative, drawing attention to vital narratives of survival and resistance among a brutally unhoused and colonized people.”–World Literature Today

About the Author

EMMANUEL S. NELSON is Associate Professor of English at the State University of New York, at Cortland.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Greenwood Press (May 30, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031327794X
• ISBN-13: 978-0313277948
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,227,483 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)