1) What did you think about the collection? Did you enjoy it? If not why not?
2) Nagra has said that he was very aware of writing in “false” voices when he wrote this collection – in particular in voices of people who in reality would not be able to speak English, or who’s English would be very poor, instead of trying to translate them directly he has tried to capture the spirit of what they might say – how do you think this works? Is it convincing?
3) Nagra has said that he tried to write the poem Singh Song (p51) as an Indian version of a British Music Hall song. Do you think he has achieved this?
4) Nagra was born and raised in West London do you think he successfully portrays the problems of being brought up with two cultures?
5) Bearing in mind that he was born in Britain is it problematical that he is writing in the voices of those born in India? Does he do this successfully? If not why not?
6) Some of the poems (for example Kabba Questions the Ontology of Representation… (p42) and The Furtherance of Mr Bulram’s Education (p36) are laid out in quite unusual ways. Did you understand why they were laid out in this way? Did the form add or detract from the content of the poems?
7) What do you think of the way that Nagra uses language in the poems?
8) Does Nagra do anything to break down our stereotypical views of Indians in Britain or do his poems perpetuate them?
Karela (p12) – also called bitter gourd or bitter melon is a tropical and sub-tropical vine grown in Asia, Africa and the Caribbean for its edible pod shaped fruit. It is one of the bitterest fruits known.
Ladoo or Laddu (p20) – is a sweet popular in South Asian countries. It is often prepared for festivals and weddings.
Putney (p51) – in Punjabi this means wife.
Read a little of Daljit Nagra talking about the collection here: http://www.sheerpoetry.co.uk/gcse/daljit-nagra/singh-song
No comments:
Post a Comment