ABSTRACT
K.V. Ramana Reddy (1928–1998) is a poet, fiction writer, dramatist, critic, activist and editor. He was closely associated with the revolutionary writers’ forum, Virasam, as a member and as the founder-secretary till the end of his life. His major works have focused on the writings and the life stories of the writers Gurajada Apparao, Sri Sri and Duvvuru Ramireddy. He has also extensively written about the literary movements in Telugu. His essays argue that the principles of criticism transform according to the context and expand their scope. Literary criticism requires and includes social criticism as well. A critic, according to him, cannot merely be emotional. A critic should exercise his responsibilities and discretion. Reddy’s historical approach adds depth to his argument as he combines the historical contexts, traditional perceptions, hegemonic literary canons and employs the leftist thought to deconstruct the established hierarchies in society and literature. Like many other writers and critics in Telugu, KVR also argues that criticism is a social responsibility, like writing is. However, the foundation that he chooses for his social responsibility is a critique of the class-based social systems and the method(ology) that he chooses is the critical documentation of biographies of literatures and litterateurs.
