Wednesday 22 October 2014

Sharing Tijan M. Sallah's Response

 
*"Remarkably thorough, sophisticated, and precise. This collection will be useful to readers starting with those who have a general interest in the subject to serious scholars ... this book will serve as a defining text for many years to come given its pivotal position in the history of Gambian writing and to the quality of these essays that bring into bold relied the excellence of Sallah's writing."- Re-Markings, Vol 13 No.3, September 2014

* Cambria Press,  Amherst, New York.


Dear Professor Ghosh,

Thanks a lot for sending me the September 2014 issue of Re-Markings, which has Priscilla Ramsey’s review of Wumi’s book of critical perspectives on my writings.  I am delighted to see the review so positive and I immediately shared it with Cambria Press, the publisher of the book.  They liked the review so much that they decided to upload it in their section of reviews for their books. I am sharing that below, where as you can see “Re-Markings” is featured. I thought you might like to know about this featuring of Re-Markings on the publisher’s website.  By the way,  I also liked the overall issue.



With warm regards,

Tijan

 

P.S.:  My new book of poems, Harrow: London Poems of Convalescence, will be released next January and I will send you a copy.  Maybe someone in India can review it for Re-Markings.

(Tijan M. Sallah is the celebrated Gambian poet associated with the World Bank and is based in the US). 


**Excerpts from Tijan M. Sallah's interview published in the September 2013 issue of Re-Markings:


‘finding beauty in our midst’:

Conversation with Tijan M. Sallah

Nibir K. Ghosh
 
Ghosh: From the diasporic angle, what is your take on the idea of “imaginary homelands”?
 
Sallah: Well, the twentieth and twenty-first century would be the era of “imaginary homelands.”  Many of us live in societies overseas different from where we have our cultural roots. Globalization and the internet have created a flat world where we can communicate and keep in touch instantaneously with our loved ones in our “imaginary homelands.”  Our roots will continue to endure and be relevant to us so long as we remain in touch. The diaspora will continue to be a source of support through re-investments and through lobbying in the northern citadels of power for societies where we have our roots. For us in voluntary or involuntary exile, the uprooted, we will face challenges in our receiving societies where we will have to adapt, but also in culturally giving what is valuable from our roots to our uprooted posterity.

Ghosh: Since you have had an Indian connection, what message would you like to give to young upcoming writers in India?

Sallah: India is on the rise and has much to offer to the world. Young upcoming Indian writers must capture the rich experiences of the current moment of India's interphase with globalization to tell the story of the poor, the disenfranchised, the marginalized, the socially excluded because of, for example, caste, to those fortunate Indians and the world at large ...

The task of the young Indian writer must be that of a chameleon revolutionary, to change colors with the environment in order to see and tell the stories of the true lives of Indians – all for the betterment of India and the world.
 





Saturday 4 October 2014

Response of Sharan Kumar Limbale, The Icon of Dalit Experience






“My Words are my Weapons”

Conversation with Sharan Kumar Limbale

Nibir K. Ghosh & Sunita Rani
Re-Markings Vol 13 No.3 September 2014, pp. 7-18 
(Excerpts from the interview available in www-remarings.com)  
 
Dear Dr. Ghosh,



Thank you for sending me a copy of the September 2014 issue of Re-Markings carrying our long conversations at Hyderabad. 

On reading the interview, I immediately found myself in a reflective mode. The range and variety of the conversation is simply overwhelming. I strongly feel it is the best conversation I have ever had so far, for it brings to the fore the whole gamut of my experience both as writer and activist. The incisive and insightful questions covering events and issues from the African American diaspora to the interiority of my experience as a progressive Dalit writer prompted me to give my very best. 

I am grateful to you and Sunita ji for taking deep interest in my life and work. Many of the issues and concerns you have raised certainly call for further discussion and debate. I shall deem it a pleasure to have such conversations with you in the immediate future.



With thanks and good wishes for the continuing success of your commendable journal, Re-Markings,



                                                                     - Sharan Kumar Limbale