Acclaimed by Forster and Pound, for Yeats the poet whose poetry 'stirred my blood as nothing has for years', Tagore was and remains India's greatest writer this century. Prolific and innovatory as a poet, novelist, dramatist, musician and painter, he was also a leading figure in the Nationalist movement, an intimate of Gandhi, a vastly influential educationalist and philosopher and a luminary in world culture. William Radice's selections and translations from the Bengali reintroduce Tagore to a new generation of Western readers.
Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941), the outstanding Bengali poet, literateur and humanist (and Asia's first Nobel Laureate in 1913), is scarcely read outside his native Bengal because only a small fraction of his works have been translated from Bengali into English or indeed into other languages. English translations were those done by Tagore himself and by a few Bengali literary scholars well-versed in English. The arrival of Dr William Radice on the scene of Bengali scholarship in the early eighties brought in a current of fresh air. Here was an Englishman admiring Tagore and translating him! In this book, Radice applies his deep perception of Tagore in putting together a bouquet, as it were, redolent with the exotic fragrance of Tagoreana. No single collection can ever do justice to Tagore, and this one doesn't either. However, it does give the English-knowing reader a vivid glimpse of Tagore's amazing creativity. Radice has done a good job of choosing competent translators who have applied their hearts to the task -- Tagore is so subtle that it is enormously difficult to translate him! This book is strongly recommended for readers of all nationalities.
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