This book critically examines the postcolonial canon, questioning both the disproportionate attention to texts written in English and their overuse in attempts to understand the postcolonial condition. The author addresses the non-representation of Indian literature in theory, and the inadequacy of generalizing postcolonial experiences and subjectivities based on literature produced in one language (English). It argues that, while postcolonial scholarship has successfully challenged Eurocentrism, it is now time to extend the dimensions beyond Anglophone and Francophone literatures to include literatures in other languages such as Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Tagalog, and Swahili.
1. Introduction: The Rationale for Remapping the Postcolonial Canon: Why Remap.- 2. Representing the Postcolonial Subaltern: A Comparative Reading of Three Subaltern Narratives by O.V. Vijayan, Arundhati Roy, and Mahashweta Devi.- 3. The Hullabaloo about Hybridity: Kiran Desais The Inheritance of Loss, Girish Karnads Yayati and Heaps of Broken Images, and Lalithambika Antherjanams Cast Me Out If You Will.- 4. Re-Imagining Postcolonial Translation Theory.- 5. Beyond the Indian Postcolonial.- Conclusion.- Appendix 1: Wang-Chu by Bhisham Sahni, Translated by Nirmala Menon.- Appendix 2: Wang-Chu by Bhisham Sahni in Original Hindi.- Bibliography.- Index.-
Nirmala Menon is Professor of Literature at the Indian Institute of Technology Indore, India. Her research spans postcolonial literature and theory, digital humanities and translation studies, and open access academic publishing in India. Her most recent publications include
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