Perceiving Other Worlds

The papers in this volume were delivered at the Symposium on 'Literature in Asia and the Pacific Region: Perceiving Other Worlds' held in Singapore in November 1989. Writers, critics and scholars from Southeast Asia, South Asia, Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific Islands, North America and Britain addressed some of the major contemporary literary issues, including the 'Other and I', the formation of identity in two or more cultures, the loss and recovery of tradition, the re-creation of meaning, and the re-writing of literary paradigms and history. A central impetus is the concern with the importance and fullness of 'I' when it is 'the Other'. This is linked to challenges posed by the rich varieties of other worlds: "Whether large or small, worlds are defined by both content and boundaries. The former can be contrasted, compared, kidnapped, cannibalised, ignored, castrated, jeopardised, internalised, rewritten, condensed, stretched, etc. Whether it is one or more of these challenging reactions, occurring in sequence or simultaneously, whether dramatic or quiet, depends much on the boundaries of the precincts you occupy and the boundaries you cross into other worlds." -- From the Introduction to this re-issue. READERSHIP: Academics, writers and those interested in the study of English Language and Literature.