‘Courtesy of Criticism’: Literary critic Kirtinath Kurtkoti’s essays exhibit his capacious vision

India is undergoing a great age of translation – and, hopefully, one that will only get stronger with every decade. One of the strengths of the current age is the translation not only of literary texts, but also of texts with a broader cultural significance. An excellent example is the translation of the Courtesy of Criticism: Selected Essays of Kirtinath Kurtkoti.

Kirtinath Kurtkoti for a new generation

Kurtkoti (1928-2003) was a towering figure of Kannada literary thought. As noted, while the post-independence generation of many of the regional languages produced several highly regarded writers, less is known of the other contributors to the cultural eco-system – the philosophers, critics, popular historians and so on. This able translation by scholar Kamalakar Bhat (fluent in Kannada, Marathi and English) helps introduce Kurtkoti’s generation to contemporary readers.

Kurtkoti was born and lived for the most part of his life in the distinctive northern Karnataka region (Gadag, Dharwad, Belgaum), one that is perhaps less known than the more loquacious southern Karnataka regions of Mysore and Bengaluru. Kurtkoti, who was an English lecturer and strongly associated with an important Kannada publishing house, professionally also experienced the regions of Pune and Gujarat. It is likely that this well-travelled life allowed him insights into…

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