Meena Kandasamy

In this Indian name, the name Kandasamy is a patronymic, not a family name, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Meena.
Meena Kandasamy

Meena in 2012
Born Ilavenil Kandasamy
1984
Pen name Meena
Occupation Writer, activist, translator
Nationality Indian

Ilavenil Meena Kandasamy (born 1984) is an Indian poet, fiction writer, translator and activist who is based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.[1] Most of her works are centered on feminism and the anti-caste Caste Annihilation Movement of the contemporary Indian milieu. As of 2013, Meena has published two collections of poetry namely, Touch (2006) and Ms. Militancy (2010). She has also represented India at the University of Iowa's International Writing Program and was a Charles Wallace India Trust Fellow at the University of Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom.

Early life and education

Born in 1984 to Tamil parents, both university professors.[1][2][3] Named as Illavenil by her parents, she developed an early interest in poetry, and later adopted the name Meena.[4] Meena completed a Doctorate of Philosophy in Socio-linguistics from Anna University, Chennai.[1] Meena wrote her first poetry at the age of 17, which was about a sex worker.[5]

Professional career

As writer

As a writer Meena's focus was mainly on caste annihilation, feminism and linguistic identity.[6] One of her first poetry collections, Touch was published in August 2006, with a foreword by Kamala Das.[1] It was translated into five different languages upon publication. Her second poetry Ms. Militancy was published the following year.[1] Other works such as Mascara and My lover speaks of Rape won her the first prize in all India Poetry competition.[7]

Her two books were reviewed by the New Indian Express. Touch was criticised for its English language errors, though its challenging themes were described as "interesting".[8] Ms. Militancy was described as an improvement in her use of the English language but "disastrous, if not worse" in terms of themes and content.[8] A review in The Hindu put the negative criticism into context, describing Meena's work as difficult for anyone whose politics were "mainstream".[3] Her poetry is "about the female self and body in ways not 'allowed' by this discourse".[3] An analysis of Touch and Ms Militancy in the Journal of Postcolonial Cultures and Societies concludes that Meena "authors a poetic discourse that not only castigates the prevalent modes of subjugation but also resolutely strives towards futures that are yet to be born."[9]

Her works have been published in various journals that include The Little Magazine, Kavya Bharati, Indian Literature, Poetry International Web, Muse India, Quarterly Literary Review, Outlook, Tehelka and The New Indian Express.[10] She was also invited to participate in the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa in 2009[6] the youngest person from India to represent the country.[1] Two years later, Meena was made the Charles Wallace India Trust Fellow at the University of Kent.[6] Meena was made a featured poet at the City of Asylum Jazz Poetry Concert held in Pittsburgh, the 14th Poetry Africa International Festival (2010), Durban and the DSC Jaipur Literature Festival (2011).[11] She has co-authored a book named AYYANKALI: A Dalit leader of Organic Protest, a biography of Ayyankali, a dalit leader in Kerala.[12] Meena was shortlisted among the 21 Short fiction women writers aged less than 40 from South Asia to be featured in an anthology published by Zubaan, New Delhi, the country's first feminist publishing house.[13] In addition, Meena edited The Dalit, a bi-monthly English magazine,[1] and in 2014 published a novel about the Kilvenmani massacre titled The Gypsy Goddess, influenced by the figure of Kurathi Amman, her "ancestral goddess".[5] As of January 2013, she is working on a book titled Caste and the City of Nine Gates, her first non-fiction work.[6]

As translator

Although Meena writes in English, she has translated prose and poetry from Tamil.[14] In addition, she has translated the works of Periyar E. V. Ramasamy, Thol. Thirumavalavan and Tamil Eelam writers such as Kasi Anandan, Cheran and VIS Jayapalan into English.[11] Speaking about her role as a translator, she says "I know that there is no limit, no boundary, no specific style guide to poetry—that you are free to experiment, that you are free to find your own voice, that you are free to flounder and also free to fail once in a while, because all this happens all the time when you translate."[4]

As actor

Meena is debuting as an actress in a Malayalam film, Oraalppokkam.[15] It is the first online crowd funded independent Malayalam feature film.[16]

Notable work

Biographies

Poetry

Novels

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 "INDIA Being Untouchable (press release)" (PDF). Christian Solidarity Worldwide. 27 September 2010. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
  2. ↑ Warrier, Shobha (21 May 2012). "They don't like women who are flamboyant about sexuality". Rediff.com. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Jeyan, Subash (6 March 2011). "In a language darkly...". The Hindu. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Singh, Pallavi (8 March 2010). "Dalits look upon English as the language of emancipation". Mint (HT Media Ltd). Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Rangan, Baradwaj (29 April 2011). "The Politics of Poetry". The Hindu. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 "Meena Kandasamy". The Hindu. 28 January 2013. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  7. ↑ "Poetry collection". The Hindu. 19 February 2007. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Tellis, Ashley (30 January 2011). "Poems of an outdated, designer feminism". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  9. ↑ Chakraborty, Abin; Jana, Ujjwal (2012). "Venomous Touch: Meena Kandasamy and the Poetics of Dalit Resistance" (PDF). Journal of Postcolonial Cultures and Societies 3. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
  10. ↑ International Writing Program (IWP). "Meena Kandasamy – 2009 Resident". University of Iowa. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Poetry Connections feat. K. Satchidanandan" (PDF). Arts Council England. 1 July 2011. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  12. ↑ Nisar, M.; Kandasamy, Meena (2007). Ayyankali – Dalit Leader of Organic Protest. Other Books. ISBN 978-81-903887-6-4.
  13. ↑ "21 under 40: New Stories for a New Generation". Zubaan. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
  14. ↑ Nair, Supriya (9 August 2012). "In verse proportion". Mint (HT Media Ltd). Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  15. ↑ "Moving the Masses". The New Indian Express. 14 November 2013. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
  16. ↑ "Crowd-funded movie in the making". The Hindu. 12 November 2013. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
  17. ↑ Maranovna, Tuppence (9 May 2014). "The Gypsy Goddess by Meena Kandasamy". tuppencemagazine.co.uk. Retrieved 9 May 2014.

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