Translated works of activist-poet Varavara Rao to release next year

A collection of poetry by Varavara Rao, the veteran activist, teacher, poet and writer, is set to be published in 2021 by Penguin Random House India.

Titled 'Varavara Rao: India’s Revolutionary Poet', this book is being edited by N Venugopal and Meena Kandasamy.

It will be published under Penguin’s Vintage imprint and released in 2021.

Varavara Rao (81) is currently in jail having been arrested in connection with the Elgar Parishad-Koregaon Bhima case.

His body of work is recognised as one of the strongest documents and critiques of Indian history since independence, and this collection of poems, translated into English, will be a record of his political beliefs and his assertion of the primacy of people’s rights. About two-thirds of the poems featured here were picked by the poet himself before his arrest.

“Varavara Rao is a teacher, journalist, translator, public speaker, revolutionary writer, organisation builder and has been a steadfast supporter of Naxalbari politics for five decades. But more than anything else, he is a revolutionary poet. He is the author of 13 collections of poetry and 16 books of prose (including seven books of literary criticism), all in Telugu. A collection of his letters from prison 'Captive Imagination' was published by Penguin,” a press statement said.

"This is like fulfilment of a long-cherished dream, as making Varavara Rao's work accessible to English readers has been my dream for decades. As a person who has closely watched the making of his poems, as one of the first readers in manuscript form, I believe his poetry is an expression of his complete personality that blended social history, alternative people's politics, people's right to self- determination and unceasing urge for freedom," said Venugopal, co-editor and nephew of the poet.

Rao, 79, has authored 13 collections of poetry and 16 books of prose -- including seven books of literary criticism -- in Telugu. A collection of his letters from prison, Captive Imagination, was also published by Penguin.

According to the publishers, the book, a commemoration of Rao's immense talent and passion for poetry, will be a first "authentic, representative collection" of his poems coming out in a single volume also including some poems translated into English exclusively for the edition.

"The image of Varavara Rao, smiling and fist raised, as he was taken into custody is imprinted on our minds. He exuded an aura of optimism, fortitude and strength. Who is Varavara Rao? What does he stand for? Where better to turn for answers than to his own words, the poems that convey with such extraordinary power his emotions, his thoughts and purpose," Elizabeth Kuruvilla, executive editor, Penguin Random House India.

Rao has been in jail since the end of 2018 for alleged inflammatory speeches made at the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, which, the police claimed, triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial located on the outskirts of the western Maharashtra city.

(With PTI Inputs)