Particles, Jottings, Sparks: The Collected Brief Poems of Rabindranath Tagore

by Rabindranath Tagore (Translator), William Radice

Pointed, witty, lucid and profound, Rabindranath Tagore's brief poems have not till now been given the prominence they deserve. Inspired by Martin Kampchen's German translations of some of the poems, William Radice's lyrical new translations aim to give a complete impression in English of the poet's achievement in this genre. Three collections are translated: Kanika ('Particles', 1899), Lekhan ('Jottings', 1927) and Sphulinga ('Sparks', posthumously published in 1945).

Genres: Poetry

Paperback

First published June 1, 2004

About the author

Awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913 "because of his profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse, by which, with consummate skill, he has made his poetic thought, expressed in his own English words, a part of the literature of the West."

Tagore modernised Bengali art by spurning rigid classical forms and resisting linguistic strictures. His novels, stories, songs, dance-dramas, and essays spoke to topics political and personal. Gitanjali (Song Offerings), Gora (Fair-Faced), and Ghare-Baire (The Home and the World) are his best-known works, and his verse, short stories, and novels were acclaimed—or panned—for their lyricism, colloquialism, naturalism, and unnatural contemplation. His compositions were chosen by two nations as national anthems: India's Jana Gana Mana and Bangladesh's Amar Shonar Bangla.

The complete works of Rabindranath Tagore (রবীন্দ্র রচনাবলী) in the original Bengali are now available at these third-party websites:
http://www.tagoreweb.in/
http://www.rabindra-rachanabali.nltr....

Reviews

[Jordan Ulmer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tagore's writings held a plethora of insight in 'tid-bit' formulations. Though again I disagreed with many of his philosophical standpoints his works were not all tainted overarching allowing me to see our world form yet another perspective.