Radical Voices in Indian English Poetry: A Study of the Poetry of Kamala Das

Abstract

The creative genius of Kamala Das, one of the most prominent voices of protest in Indian English Literature is often compared to the American poet Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton as both of them used the confessional mode of writing in their poetry. Kamala Das, born in 1934 in Thrissur district of kerela emerged as a distinctive poetic voice with the publication of the first volume of her poetry Summer in Calcutta. In her poems Kamala Das has always raised a voice against the conventionalized figure of a woman, seeking a more dignified and honourable position for woman as an entity. In fact her poetry addresses the most critical issue in the contemporary society-the need to awaken the women. Her poetry collections include- Summer in Calcutta (1965), The Descendents (1967), The Old Playhouse and Other poems (1973), Tonight, This Savage Rite (1979), The Collected Poems (1984). My Story published in 1976 is her autobiography.