Reading Literary Culture: Perspectives from Orissa

With its mélange of surveys, introductions, essays, reviews, and interviews, this unique book offers a window into some key cultural figures, historical moments, and issues in one of India's fascinating locations - Orissa - where a rich and ancient literary heritage remains relatively obscure to the world outside. The book illustrates, contrary to popular misconception, how traditional as well as contemporary Oriya literature has been enriched by several extraordinary voices. Going by their intrinsic worth and cultural impact, and through the perspectives offered here, literary works - such as those of Sarala Das, Jagannath Das, Fakir Mohan Senapati, Gopinath Mohanty, Kalindi Charan Panigrahi, Sachi Rautray, Basanta Kumari, Basanta Satpathy, Jayanta Mahapatra, Ramakanta Rath, Sitakant Mahapatra, JP, Pratibha Ray - emerge as masterpieces, not only of Oriya or Indian, but of world literature.