Classical Telugu Poetry (Volume 13) (World Literature in Translation) Paperback – May 12, 2020

Each early major Telugu poet is identified with a divinity, and the language as a goddess, to which later poets pay tribute, seeing their unity as a creation of a universe. This, according to the texts from the Classical Telugu Poetry, is the way the Telugu poets view their world.The book gives a valuable and incredibly interesting interdisciplinary overview of the history of Telugu poetry and the complex Andhra history, placing its most important and emblematic poets in the context of their deep understanding of culture, place, and time. Moreover, the book offers a deep analysis of the system of language used in the poetry and the underlying meanings and backgrounds of the stories that are being told.The first poet discussed in the book is Nannaya, the creator of the earliest Telugu poetry that can be found and the reader's first introduction to the highly personal and sensitive flowing style of this poetry, which offers a place of a harmonious coming together of Sanskrit and Telugu. Classical Telugu Poetry offers a meaningful description of this poet's life, ideas, and narrative style in the context of the rich and complex language and stories; a system that will also be applied to the other poets discussed in the book.All the poets are discussed in relation to each other, their history, and their influences upon each other's life, works, and use of language. Moreover, the book itself is written in a flowing style, weaving the stories of the poets and their language and culture together in a complex, yet comprehensible chronological order.