V. C. Sreejan is a literary critic writing in

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

. Born in 1951, he retired in 2007 after working as Reader in English in Government Brennen College, Thalassery. He has published eleven books in Malayalam. In 2003 he was awarded the Kerala Sahithya Akademi's C.B. Kumar Award' for his work ''Arthantharanyasm''.

Works

* ''Chinthayile Roopakangal'', (1991) is a collection of articles on the role of metaphors in

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisFrom Greek language, Greek: and is a set of theories and techniques of research to discover unconscious mind, unconscious processes and their influence on conscious mind, conscious thought, emotion and behaviour. Based on The Inte ...

and

literary theory Literary theory is the systematic study of the nature of literature and of the methods for literary analysis. Culler 1997, p.1 Since the 19th century, literary scholarship includes literary theory and considerations of intellectual history, m ...

. It includes two introductory essays on

Jacques Derrida Jacques Derrida (; ; born Jackie Élie Derrida;Peeters (2013), pp. 12–13. See also 15 July 1930 – 9 October 2004) was a French Algerian philosopher. He developed the philosophy of deconstruction, which he utilized in a number of his texts, ...

.The last two essays discuss novels by

O. V. Vijayan Ottupulackal Velukkuty Vijayan (2 July 1930 – 30 March 2005), commonly known as O. V. Vijayan, was an Indian author and cartoonist, who was an important figure in modern Malayalam language literature. Best known for his first novel '' Khasakk ...

and

M. T. Vasudevan Nair Madath Thekkepaattu Vasudevan Narayanan Nair (15 July 1933 – 25 December 2024) was an Indian author, lecturer, Screenwriter, screenplay writer and film director. He was a prolific and versatile writer in modern Malayalam literature, and was o ...

. * ''Pravachakante Maranam'', (1993) includes an early piece on the absurd (1972), an essay on Bertolt Brecht's theatre, an introduction to Brecht's '' Threepenny Novel'', a study of Ambikasuthan Mangad's story and an essay on the politics of

deconstruction In philosophy, deconstruction is a loosely-defined set of approaches to understand the relationship between text and meaning. The concept of deconstruction was introduced by the philosopher Jacques Derrida, who described it as a turn away from ...

. * ''Kathayum Pratyayasastravum'',(1993) contains an introduction to Western

Marxist literary criticism Marxist literary criticism is a theory of literary criticism based on the historical materialism developed by philosopher and economist Karl Marx. Marxist critics argue that even art and literature themselves form social institutions and have s ...

, and an introduction to

structuralism Structuralism is an intellectual current and methodological approach, primarily in the social sciences, that interprets elements of human culture by way of their relationship to a broader system. It works to uncover the structural patterns t ...

. It includes an essay on the '' Dhvani'' theory which argues that Dhvani is the same as

metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide, or obscure, clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are usually meant to cr ...

in the broad sense of the term, an essay on the ideological underpinnings of some short stories and essays on T. Padmanabhan and

Paul Zacharia Mundattuchundayil Paul Scaria (born 5 June 1945), popularly known as Paul Zacharia or Zacharia, is an Indian writer of Malayalam literature. Known for his body of literary works composed of short stories, novellas, travelogues, screenplays, ess ...

. * ''Vaakkum Vaakkum'', (1996) is devoted to the reading of poems by Vyloppillil Sreedhara Menon, P. Kunhiraman Nair, K. Ayyappa Panicker and Kadammanitta Ramakrishnan. The other works discussed include novels by

, V. M. Basheer and short stories by T. Padmanabhan and Zacharia. * ''Arthantaranyasam'', (1999) discusses the relevance of the classical Indian concepts of Dhvani and Rasa. It begins with an analysis of the theory of

and its relationship with the concepts of

Freudian Sigmund Freud ( ; ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies seen as originating from conflicts in t ...

Unconscious and Marxian concept of

ideology An ideology is a set of beliefs or values attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely about belief in certain knowledge, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones". Form ...

.It is argued that in their classical form Dhvani and Rasa are not useful in reading modern texts. Rasa is rejected as such, and the Dhvani theory is given a more prosaic interpretation along the lines suggested by Mukulabhatta. Instead of reviving these theories, these are to be destroyed and a new concept can be created out of their ruins. * ''Aadhunikotharam: Vimarsanavum Vikalanavum'', (1999) is a closely argued response to some

critics and writers who maintain that

Malayalam literature Malayalam, the lingua franca of the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puduchery, is one of the six classical languages of India. Malayalam literature comprises those literary text ...

has already entered into its post-modern phase. With reference to the Western writers, it is argued that this claim is not true. * ''Vimarsanatmaka Siddhantam'', (1999) is an expository book on the work of

Frankfurt School The Frankfurt School is a school of thought in sociology and critical theory. It is associated with the University of Frankfurt Institute for Social Research, Institute for Social Research founded in 1923 at the University of Frankfurt am Main ...

. * ''Novel Vayanakal'', (2003) reads 12 Malayalam novels without using many critical tool borrowed from the west. Part of the text itself is taken as the model for reading and interpreting it. It brings out relays of meanings across the works. It reveals a current of non-religious

spirituality The meaning of ''spirituality'' has developed and expanded over time, and various meanings can be found alongside each other. Traditionally, spirituality referred to a religious process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape o ...

running through the works read. * ''Prathivadangal'', (2004) is a thoroughgoing criticism of Marxian philosophical concepts. * ''Arthavadangal'', (2006: Mathrubhumi Books, Kozhikode)contains essays on Death, Dhvani theory. Arthavadam, M. P. Paul and William Hudson, Appan Thampuran's ''Bhutarayar'', Venmani Mahan's ''Pooraprabandham'' etc. * ''Rahukalam'', (2007: Sign Books, Thiruvananthapuram) is a collection of essays on Joseph Muliyil's ''Sukumari'', Medieval Malayalam poetry, Asan's ''Duravastha'', N. Prabhakaran's ''Bhutabhumi'', poetry of Rafeeq Ahmed and

Miguel de Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra ( ; ; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 Old Style and New Style dates, NS) was a Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelist ...

's ''

Don Quixote , the full title being ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'', is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, the novel is considered a founding work of Western literature and is of ...

'' * ''Adikkurippukal'' (2018: Logos Books, Pattambi), a collection of book reviews. Forthcoming: ''Chinthayude Mayalokangal'' (Kairali Books, Kannur)

Awards

Sreejan was awarded the C. B. Kumar Award in 2003, and the Kerala Sahithya Akademi Award for Literary Criticism in 2006, but declined them. He also was awarded the Narendra Prasad Foundation Award for criticism in 2007.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sreejan, V. C. 1951 births Living people Malayalam literary critics Malayalam-language writers Recipients of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award