Tambimuttu and Sivanandan: Cold-War America and International Socialism Dr Ruvani Ranasinha (Kings College London) considers and contrasts the political positions and self-fashioning adopted during the careers of two mid-century Sri Lankan writers. Ranasinha recounts Tambimuttu’s self-stereotyping of the sensual Orient, first with his move to the UK in 1938, and later in terms
Laetitia Zecchini discusses the politics of literary translation and publication, particularly surrounding the journal Quest funded by the International Council for Cultural Freedom, itself backed by the CIA. She examined the editor Nissim Ezekiel’s own positions and motivations, noting that for him Quest’s purpose was the create the conditions in which the magazine would provide the freedom to debate, argue, and hold different theoretical positions, creating a space of cultural independence which could in turn realise political independence.
When does a book become part of world literature? When it is translated into a major language, published by a metropolitan publisher and endorsed by renowned writers? So why has Qurratulain Hyder’s novel failed to register?
