River of ink
By: Paul M.M. Cooper
Edition: First U.S. edition.
Published: 2016
Language: eng
Number of pages: 289
ISBN-13: 9781632860705
Subjects: Translations into Tamil; Poets; Man-woman relationships; History; Sanskrit poetry; Kings and rulers; Fiction
Description: "In thirteenth-century Sri Lanka, Asanka, poet to the king, lives a life of luxury, enjoying courtly life and a sweet, furtive love affair with a palace servant, a village girl he is teaching to write. But when Magha, a prince from the mainland, usurps the throne, Asanka's role as court poet dramatically alters. Magha is a cruel and calculating king--and yet, a lover of poetry--and he commissions Asanka to translate a holy Sanskrit epic into the Tamil language spoken by his recently acquired subjects. The poem will be an olive branch--a symbol of unity between the two cultures. But in different languages, in different contexts, meaning can become slippery"--Amazon.com.