woman-poets

September 11, 2003

Who were the woman-poets of India?

Are there any besides Lal Ded and Akka Mahadevi?

(I know there is also Mirabai, but she was devotee of Krishna; my focus is on

woman who were devoted to Shiva or/and Devi.)

September 12, 2003

Namaste,

Try this website for some information.

http://www.indiatogether.org/2003/aug/wom-writing.htm

Here's a quote from there:

"Women poet saints like Sakhubai and Janabai in Marathi literature,

Andal in Tamil, Mirabai in Rajasthan, Akka Mahadevi in Karnataka were

legends in their lifetime. Later, writers like Mahadevi Verma in

Hindi struck a forceful tone for the liberation of women in their

writings. Lalithambika Antarjanam from Kerala and Ashapoorna Devi in

Bengal broke caste barriers and exposed the entrenched patriarchy in

these societies. Those like Ismat Chugtai took up social issues as

their responsibility as women writers. Today, Mahashweta Devi, Jaya

Mitra (Bengali), Volga (Telugu), Swaroop Dhruv (Gujarati), Bama

(Tamil), Pradnya Lokhande (Marathi) and many others are continuing

the tradition of powerful writing by Indian women."

Also, I cannot find a review on it, and it seems to be out of print,

but this book is listed on Amazon.com perhaps you could find it in a

library:

The Fair Voice: A Study of Indian Women Poets in English by Sunanda

P. Chavan

And I love my copy of this (although it is a broad treatment, not

just Indian women):

Women in Praise of the Sacred

by Jane Hirshfield

I hope that helps.

prainbow

, akka_108 <akka_108> wrote:

> Who were the woman-poets of India?

> Are there any besides Lal Ded and Akka Mahadevi?

>

> (I know there is also Mirabai, but she was devotee of Krishna; my

focus is on woman who were devoted to Shiva or/and Devi.)

>

September 12, 2003

When it comes to modern Indian women poets, in addition to the ones

already mentioned, Sarojini Naidu is a good example of a modern

Shakti woman, a poetess who struggled for independence. And Kamala

Das in the present day, whose poems like "Devadasi" are filled with

Shakti presence.

, "prainbow61" <paulie-

rainbow@u...> wrote:

> Namaste,

>

> Try this website for some information.

> http://www.indiatogether.org/2003/aug/wom-writing.htm

>

> Here's a quote from there:

>

> "Women poet saints like Sakhubai and Janabai in Marathi

literature,

> Andal in Tamil, Mirabai in Rajasthan, Akka Mahadevi in Karnataka

were

> legends in their lifetime. Later, writers like Mahadevi Verma in

> Hindi struck a forceful tone for the liberation of women in their

> writings. Lalithambika Antarjanam from Kerala and Ashapoorna Devi

in

> Bengal broke caste barriers and exposed the entrenched patriarchy

in

> these societies. Those like Ismat Chugtai took up social issues as

> their responsibility as women writers. Today, Mahashweta Devi,

Jaya

> Mitra (Bengali), Volga (Telugu), Swaroop Dhruv (Gujarati), Bama

> (Tamil), Pradnya Lokhande (Marathi) and many others are continuing

> the tradition of powerful writing by Indian women."

>

> Also, I cannot find a review on it, and it seems to be out of

print,

> but this book is listed on Amazon.com perhaps you could find it in

a

> library:

>

> The Fair Voice: A Study of Indian Women Poets in English by

Sunanda

> P. Chavan

>

> And I love my copy of this (although it is a broad treatment, not

> just Indian women):

>

> Women in Praise of the Sacred

> by Jane Hirshfield

>

> I hope that helps.

>

> prainbow

>

> , akka_108 <akka_108>

wrote:

> > Who were the woman-poets of India?

> > Are there any besides Lal Ded and Akka Mahadevi?

> >

> > (I know there is also Mirabai, but she was devotee of Krishna;

my

> focus is on woman who were devoted to Shiva or/and Devi.)

> >

September 12, 2003

There was also Lalli, a woman poet and Siddha yogi from Northern India in the

14th century. A book of her poems called Lalleshwari was published by the

Siddha Yoga Foundation and may now be available through a used book dealer.

James

-

prainbow61

Friday, September 12, 2003 2:44 PM

Re: woman-poets