South Asian Literature in English: An Encyclopedia (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780313327001)

The first reference of its kind, this encyclopedia covers topics related to literature written in English by authors who were either born in South Asia or who identify themselves with that region. The volume focuses on writers from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. Included are several hundred alphabetically arranged entries on novelists, novels, and cinematic adaptations, as well as poets, dramatists, autobiographers, short story writers, theoreticians, critical terms, themes, genres, literary movements, and key historical events. Entries are written by expert contributors and suggest works for further reading.

South Asian writing in English has recently received unprecedented critical and popular attention. The publication of Salman Rushdie's seminal novel Midnight's Children (1981) and the popularity of his later works, Michael Ondaatje's Booker Prize for The English Patient in 1992, and V. S. Naipaul's Nobel Prize in Literature in 2003 are just a few of the highlights that mark the significance of South Asian writing in English. The first reference of its kind, this encyclopedia covers topics related to literature written in English by authors who were either born in South Asia or who identify themselves with that region.

The volume focuses on writers from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. Included are several hundred alphabetically arranged entries on novelists, novels, and cinematic adaptations, as well as poets, dramatists, autobiographers, short story writers, theoreticians, critical terms, themes, genres, literary movements, and key historical events. Entries are written by expert contributors and suggest works for further reading. The encyclopedia includes a chronology and closes with a selected, general bibliography of anthologies and critical studies. Given the enormous popularity of South Asian literature in English, this reference is essential for all libraries.

Author: Jaina C. Sanga
ISBN-10: 0313327009
ISBN-13: 9780313327001
Publisher: Greenwood
Language: English
Published: 05/30/2004
Pages: 360
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 2.21lbs
Size: 10.36h x 6.94w x 1.17d

Review Citation(s):
American Reference Bks Annual 01/01/2005 pg. 512
Choice 12/01/2004 pg. 630
Booklist 01/01/2005 pg. 908
Multicultural Review 03/01/2005 pg. 94