Of Beginnings and Convergences: Contemporary Women’s Poetry in Manipur

Abstract

Anglophone women’s poetry in Manipur in the last decade critiques the norms prevalent in patriarchal societies. This article focuses on six contemporary women poets whose works highlight the woman, her subjectivity, and her truths. Collectively, their works constitute an emerging feminist poetic tradition in Manipur. Despite the multiplicities of location and creative idiom of each poet, their poetry converges upon seminal issues and amplify one another’s voices, giving us an intimate glimpse of women’s trysts with everyday structures of patriarchy. The respective poets attempt to rewrite previously inscribed taboos and cultural practices—some by reimagining tropes that have weighed against fair representation of women such as the body, female desire, and myths; and others by breaking the cycle of abuse and shame through testimonial poetry.