ABSTRACT
The authors argue in the chapter that the corpus of literary productions now registers a sharp shift in the approach to literature as an artistic self-expression since the 1970s. Hence the focus on the chosen literary genres with suitable illustrations to bear out the shift which may be termed as the emergence of critical ‘rasa’ as opposed to the traditional aesthetics.
Texts are studied under the broad demarcation of ‘mainstream’ and ‘non-mainstream’: Ashokamitran’s Pathinettavadhu atchakkodu (Eighteenth parallel), Sundara Ramaswamy’s JJ: Sila Kurippugal (JJ: Some Notings), G. Nagarajan’s Naalai matrum oru naale (Tomorrow is another day) and a glance at Kalki under mainstream fiction, Bama’s Karukku, Imayam’s Arumugam – under non-mainstream; modernist poets Gnanakoothan, Atmanam and others, select poets from K.S. Subramanian’s translation from the Sangam period to the present juxtaposed with radical women poets Salma, Kutty Revathy and Suhirtharani translated by Lakshmi Holmstrom, English translations of Komal Swaminathan’s play Thanneer thanneer, Indira Parthasarathy’s Nandan kathai and Aurangazeb under mainstream juxtaposed with Gunasekaran’s Thodu and Jiva’s Cheriyin Thalattu with a glance at Na. Muthuswami. The article underscores the shifting connotations of the two categories. It also shows how publishing houses and their editors have played an active role in making the act of translation as a critical enabler.
