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The slapping of any brand or label always involves an inherent risk of over-simplification and arbitrariness. And as far as Postmodernism goes, some of the leading authorities on the subject are hard put to it to define this theme, trend or style and some others, like Ihab Hassan, even think that the term 'Postmodernism' is a misnomer since it signifies not a transcendence of the Modernist movement but a rejection of every element of Modernist literature. ('The word evokes what it wishes to surpass and suppress -- Modernism itself' -- Ihab Hassan). The Modernist elements are, to recapitulate, Pessimism, a sense of emptiness and Sisyphean futility of life, listlessness and ennui, erudite allusions, a negative attitude towards life, distrust and debunking of all heroism and the cult of the anti-hero, and the investing of literature with a recondite and elitist aura. On the other hand, what is known as Postmodernism represents, in fact, a reaction against all these propensities, a journey away from them. 'Anti-Modernism' would be a more apt terminology. 'Gothic castle' was the name given not to the castles built by the Goths but to those built to repel the Goths. The English word 'spendthrift' means just the opposite of thrifty; the most turbulent one of the oceans is the 'Pacific Ocean'.

Postmodern poetry strives to make itself accessible to common readers, it seeks to restore the pristine values, it concerns itself with present-day problems. Opposition to war and racism is a common theme of Postmodern literature while another dominant element is Feminism. Feminism in Postmodern literature has produced a new genre of criticism called Gynocriticism. The Bangladesh poets of the Nineties, however, differ from Western Postmodern poets and writers in one important respect. A renewed interest in indigenous tradition and culture and drawing inspiration from one's own native history, myths and folk tales and the characteristic richness and splendour of the native landscape is the leitmotif of the Bangladesh poets of the Nineties, and they boldly proclaim that. This is where they decisively part ways with postmodern literature as it is understood in the West. Nativity is not emphasised by the leading Western Postmodern poets and critics; on the contrary, their credo is Multiculturalism, plurality. An aversion to racism and war which characterised post-colonial writings might have contributed to the celebration of Multiculturalism but an impulse to it also flows from the literary theory of Structuralism which postulates that cultural elements -- words, meanings, experiences -- are constituted by relations to other elements. The Structuralist would say that there is no single, integral existence or concept; there is no single, fixed truth; truth exists in a plurality of relations, and hence is plural. And since there is no fixed truth it is futile to try to enquire into and recapture the origin, whether it be origin of a text (authorial meaning) or culture. The origin keeps changing. Therefore the Postmodern critics say 'Not origin but phenomenon'. A phenomenon is the shape of things in flux, which truth indeed is. The Bangladesh poets of the Nineties who represent many of the Postmodern elements are nevertheless obsessed with their nativity and origin and boldly proclaim their predilections in this regard. They have rejected what they call "borrowed" Modernism of the Bengali poets of the Thirties and call its intellection flashy and deceptive as it was divorced from the socio-economic condition of the circumambience in which the poets were reared. These poets, they say, instead of discovering their own country discovered Europe. However a qualifier has to be inserted here: Jibanananda they regard differently from the other Modernists, and very reverentially. This is understandable. Jibanananda captured the native spirit of Bengal more fully and authentically than perhaps any other Bengali poet. On this point no serious critic will possibly disagree. Their two lesser icons are Jasimuddin and Al Mahmud.

The poets of the Nineties have a strong point when they say that contemporary literature should not be Euro-centric. After colonialism has been dissolved, many more things stand in need of being dissolved. As Edward Said has said, knowledge was conditioned by state power and interest. The colonial interest of the past produced the myth that the West is the source of all knowledge while the East is a "career" (to enrich oneself by colonial exploitation). Deflected from Euro-centrism, contemporary Bangladesh literature turns towards folk tradition. At the present time Spanish literature occupies the centre-stage of world literature. Spanish literature, and many other contemporary literatures, distinguish themselves by forcing a new look at their respective folk traditions, instead of Western myths. The Bangladesh poets of the Nineties draw liberally on their folk tales and many half-forgotten fables. Let me quote a leading exponent of Postmodern poetry in Bangladesh, Ejaz Yusufi. He writes, "In today's Postmodern poetry myths, folk tales, proverbs and maxims and other cultural norms are being assimilated to create for us a geography which is distinct from modern poetry." Some poets (Isharaf Hossain, Joyti Poddar) have also depicted religion-based customs. These poets of the Nineties have preserved in poetry some of the folk elements of Bangladesh culture which were on the verge of extinction, thanks to the predatory advances of Satellite TV. In a poem titled "The Nineties Decade' the poet Shaminul Huq Shamim writes-

The flashes of the Sixties
let them lie abandoned
like debased coins.

It may be noted that the poets of the Sixties boldly represented Modernism the flashes of which have become debased coins for these poets.

As the poets of the Nineties are wont to look back to the pristine elements of their native culture and topography, a, haunting nostalgia sometimes animates their writings. Not all of them have given attention to the metrical orders and other technicalities of poetry. While some write in rhyme, some others even write poems in linear prose (Ahmed Nakib, Ahmad Swapan Mahumud, Mujib Mehdi, also sometimes Brattyo Raisu) while yet others lave fragmentary sentences. It should be noted that in Bengali poetry rhyme is not produced by alternating accented and unaccented syllables but by organising 'open' and 'closed' syllables into particular foot-patterns. There are three metrical orders in Bengali poetry.

Postmodern literature being particularly proactive and reactive as far as contemporary issues are concerned, one finds here a new treatment of what is called 'The Other' -- the sections, classes and ethnic groups traditionally relegated to the backstage of world literature and cast in lowly roles in novels, etc. The Postmodern poets are trying to compensate by bringing. The Other into focus. Rabindranath Tagore who seldom transcended much beyond the limitations of his Bhadralok (Bengali gentry) class or cared to do so, had in a way seemed to solidify class distinction by encouraging the reader of his popular long poem 'Dui Bigha Zomi' to think that the lowly occupation of a gardener must be filled not by an ethnic Bengali but by an 'Ooray' (contemptuous name of an inhabitant of Orissa). Here one dos not find any universal poet but a Bengali Zamindar looking at the tenancy question in patronising spirit. In a clear departure from this mould some Bangladesh poets of the Nineties have celebrated The Other. Poems have been written on the aboriginal tribes.

A few young poets are also found to revive some old poetical devices. For example, Pattern Poetry. Giving poetry a visual shape is not a modern innovation. Letters, words or lines are so structured as to represent certain shapes. It is of ancient (perhaps Eastern) origin and some old Greek poems are extant which were shaped like axe, wings. Though justly regarded as frivolous, it found favour with a serious poet like the Frenchman Guillaume Apollinaire. Apollianaire who was also an artist wrote his 'Tears' with the letters trickling down the page like running tears on one's cheek. The following are two Pattern Poems by poets of the Nineties -- Ashik Rahman and Ripon Mahmud. Ashik Rahman's poem is titles 'I have no home' and Ripon Mahmud's, 'Abid's bicycle'.

It is obvious that little magazines will be the principal medium of Postmodern poetry. The little magazines are quite numerous, some are very well-produced and what is further significant is that some high-quality literary magazines are coming out from provincial towns. The little magazines are full of post-colonial writings (or 'discourses', to use a favourite term of academics). Even a casual visit to Shahbagh Aziz Market which is the authentic assembly of the young poets, will not fail to reveal the intellectual vibrancy of the group. Post-structuralism and deconstruction are hotly debated topics in the literary assemblies here. Saussure and Derrida and Levi-Strauss are household names among a sizeable section of poets and writers of the Nineties. Postmodern poets have inter-disciplinary approach to literature. The purpose of criticism, according to the Postmodern canon, is not only to appraise a work of literature but also to relate it to the imperatives of the prevailing doctrines of sociology, psychology, linguistics -- Intertextuality, as they call it. The Bangladesh poets of the Nineties posses less intellectual depth than those of the Sixties but they are noted for wide intellectual eclecticism.

The poets of the Nineties were perhaps right in moving away from Euro-centicism but by nativising their creativity too much they run the risk of confounding cultural rediscovery with regressive revivalism. Besides, by rejecting Modernism of the Western variety they have also rejected pessimism. But it is only the pessimist philosophy which can fathom the deeper layers of life and truth, and by raising doubt and uncertainty enrich the personality. The all-is-for-the-best-in-this-best-of-all-possible-words type of optimism of Dr Pangloss in Voltaire's Candid (a portraiture of the German philosopher Leibniz, perhaps) will dull thinking and creative verve. Besides, nativisation of literature should not be carried to the point where human knowledge is fragmented. If the geometry of the Greek Euclid or the Dialectical Materialism of the German Karl Marx can be part of a Bangladesh poet's intellectual arsenal then why must she or he assiduously shun the pursuit of European Modernism.


-- This article is taken from the writer's recent publication titled A Sheaf of Literary Essays.