The Rapids of a Great River: The Penguin Book of Tamil Poetry (Hardcover)

If you are really interested in Tamil poetry, then you can surely pick this great compilation called "The Rapids of a Great River". The title of this book is taken from the book by AK Ramanujan's Poems of Love and War. One of the main sources of Tamil Poetry which is the Sangam literature, which forms the first part of the book, finds a beautiful connection here.

The book contains wonderful selections from work like the Silappadikaram, the Kural, Kuttrala Kuruvanci, and others. The second part of the book is a compilation of more recent poetry and the reader is introduced to the beautiful work of Subramiania Bharati, who has written poetry in a revolutionary style. The second part also includes poetry from newer voices such as Tamils from Sri Lanka, Dalits as well others for the contemporary reader.

This book deftly covers the last two millennia of Tamil poetry and is surely a great book to pick up and read for all poetry lovers. The editors have done a great job and surely it’s a landmark in the history of Indian as well as Tamil poetry.

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