> Dalit literature. I have heard that this is a very popular and growing
> field. So far I have not begun a major search, but I would like to meet
> other persons who are familiar with Dalit literature written in Telugu.
True! In 1993, 1994 I came across a couple of articles in _Economics and
Political Weekly_ (popularly known as EPW!) on this subject. Most of the
libraries in U.S.A may be subscribing it, I guess. I had my personal
subscription till mid-'95. I recall one article from K.Sreenivaasulu exactly
on the above topic in early '95 with lots of references. If I find the copy,
I will mail you the photocopy of it.
katti padmaaraavu (a controversial figure IMO), a known Dalit leader in A.P
also published a couple of books. I think Dr. innayya also wrote on the above
topic. I have to check about Dr. innayya's works. Muddana Sekhar posted his
complete bibliography once on SCIT. Another good address for further
information is "jaashuva Foundation" (run by Sreemati hEmalata lavaNam & co)
in Vijayawada.
> It seems the poet Jaashuva comes from a low caste, and wrote
> prior to the time the term _Dalit_ came about. I think there have been
> some discussions on Jaashuva on this list previously ... if any of you
> posted any of Jaashuva's poetry or any commentary on them, I would
> appreciate having you forward it to me.
Sree paalana made some EXCELLANT postings on SCIT. First three parts
appeared in Summer '94, and the later three parts in October '95 on SCIT.
I posted a brief followup on the same topic in October. Try to get hold of
_gabbilam_ (apart from his 'khanDa kaavyamu', 'phiradausi'), and if possible
his earlier works. Also Smt. hEmalata wrote a book on her father. I found
almost all his titles in Melvyl catalogue a while ago. Some titles which
could be of interest to you are:
naa katha (auto-bio, I have n't read it personally. If you get hold of the
book, I would like to have a copy :-))
kottalOkamu, kaandiSiikuDu, gabbilam (also translated into English verse by
M.B. Rajarao)
hEmalata lavaNam's: _maa naanaagaaru_
In Mark Tully's _No Full Stops in India_ also you find a very interesting
chapter on "Dalit movement".
Whats the gentleman's name, who is adviser to the Reserve Bank of India, and
whose academic performances at the Univ. of Indiana are sofar unmatched? In
the past one year alone there were two interviews with him in _India Today_,
whose new book (in Marathi) is making waves. The last interview was just a
month or two ago.
> About Telugu Dalit literature, some questions I would like to ask
> are: Who is writing it? Who is reading it? Whom does it address? What
> is its relationship to the dominant canons and theories of literature?
> What is the relationship between this literature and social consciousness?
> and historical events? and political movements? Where are people writing
> it (cities, villages)? What institutions (publishing houses, literary
> societies) have some interest in directing its development?
Here I am sceptical about the whole movement.
More later,
Regards,
Sreenivas