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Call for Papers: Multi-Ethnic Poetry in English from North-East India: A Critical Spectrum

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The term ‘North-East’ is a form of geographical, linguistic and ethnic stereotyping that clubs together eight disparate states comprising of Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Manipur, Mizoram, and Sikkim, that happen to lie in the Northeastern periphery of the Indian union. The body of works by English-language writers from this regionrefers to the North-East Indian Writings in English. Some of the most interesting Indian writing in English today is coming from this region. Intense political conflict and complex issues of identity along with some of the psychological and social perplexities of the present provide much fodder for storylines. And the subsoil of myth and folklore, coupled with scenic landscapes, make it a fertile ground for literary ferment.


Today, there is a profusion of literature from the North-East India. Of this resourceful group, the poets have always commanded a special attention and appeal owing to the ubiquity of the form and the profound intensity of the creative expression. The sense of place, history and society comes across through their poems beautifully and in very evocative language. Mostly, they hail from the multifarious ethnic groups. Obviously, ethnicity is a major concern in their poetry.


The proposed anthology is intended to focus on some of the latest perspectives of the region presented by noted North-East Indian poets such as Temsula Ao, Mamang Dai, Easterine Iralu, Tiamerenla Monalisa Changkija, Nini Vingurian Lungalang, Esther Syiem, Mona Zote, Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih, Robin Singh Ngangom, Desmond L. Kharmawphlang, Anjum Hasan, Bhaskar Roy Barman, Arbind Kumar Choudhary, Rajendra Bhandari, Niranjan Chakma, Jogamaya Chakma, Nabanita Kanungo, Yumlam Tana, Mrs. Lakshahira Das, Dayananda Pathak, Umakanta Sarma, Bhupati Das, R. K. Madhubir, Ananya S. Guha, H. Ramdinthari, Rajendra Bhandari, Chandra Kanta Murasingh, Kalyan Brata Chakraborty, Nanda Kumar Debbarma, Swapan Sengupta, Shefali Debbarma, Niranjan Chakma Yogmaya Chakma, Ganghini Sorokkhaibam, Sudhanwa Tripura, etc. etc.


Interested scholars are requested to submit a 200-250 words abstract along with short bio through e-mail as MS Word attachment to Dr. Indu Swami at induswamionline@yahoo.com latest by July 31, 2011. The deadline for submission of full length unpublished quality papers (3000-7000 words) in the latest MLA style is August 31, 2011. The anthology will be published by a renowned International Publisher with ISBN in the month of December 2011.


Dr. (Mrs.) Indu Swami
PG Department of English,
Assam Central University:: Diphu Campus,
Diphu-782460, Karbi Anglog, Assam



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