We Speak in Changing Languages (Indian Woman Poets 1990-2007)

Book Details

• Publisher: SAHITYA AKADEMI

• Authors: E V Ramakrishnan and Anju Makhija

• Language: English

• Pages: 300

• Cover: PAPERBACK

• Dimensions: 21.5 cm x 14 cm

• Weight: 430 gm

• Edition: 2017

• ISBN: 9788126026739

About the Book
This anthology presents the works of twenty-one women poets, showcasing the rich diversity of voices in contemporary Indian English poetry. Featuring both established poets such as Rukmini Bhaya Nair, Shanta Acharya, Menka Shivdasani, and Smita Agarwal, alongside emerging voices like Mamang Dai, Arundhati Subramaniam, Anjum Hasan, Priya Sarukkai Chabria, and Mukta Sambrani, this collection captures a range of perspectives. These poets express everything from irony to vision, and from lyrical beauty to sentimental reflections. They delve into themes such as myth, memory, and contemporary relationships, offering a comprehensive look at India's modern poetic landscape.

About the Authors
E. V. Ramakrishnan is a bilingual writer, poet, and critic who has written in both English and Malayalam. He has published several volumes of poetry, including Terms of Seeing: New and Selected Poems, and has translated works in Tree of Tongues: An Anthology of Modern Indian Poetry. He is also the editor of several anthologies for Sahitya Akademi, including Indian Short Story 1900-2000 and Narrating India: The Novel in Search of the Nation. Ramakrishnan currently serves as a Professor of English at Veer Narmad South Gujarat University, Surat.

Anju Makhija is a poet, playwright, and translator. She has authored books such as View from Web (poems) and Seeking the Beloved, a translation of the 16th-century Sufi mystic Shah Abdul Latif’s verse. She has also edited Freedom and Fissures, an anthology of partition poetry, and a three-volume series of Indo-English plays. Makhija has won several prestigious awards, including the BBC World Poetry Prize (2002) and the All India Poetry Prize (1995), sponsored by the British Council and the Poetry Society of India.

Introduction
The creation of this anthology stemmed from the need to highlight the diversity of women’s voices in contemporary Indian English poetry. Most of the poets featured here rose to prominence in the nineties and have already published their first volumes of poetry. The anthology serves to introduce these poets to a wider audience, while also capturing changing trends and evolving sensibilities within the poetry scene. The poets included do not share a single, common style, but their works collectively reflect diverse concerns and attitudes that are characteristic of modern Indian women's voices. While not defined solely by feminist or "womanly" themes, these poets engage with themes of social oppression and gender identity, responding to the ongoing shifts in Indian society's approach to these issues.