World Literature as a Special Issue

In India, as in other parts of the world, readers’ exposure to the world and to world literatures largely took place through the pages of magazines, via translations, reviews, snippets of information, survey articles, and so on. The 1950s to 1970s were the golden age of magazine publishing in Hindi. Several Hindi magazines devoted to the short story not only showcased new literary talent but also invested much effort in translating writings from foreign literatures and from other Indian languages. Competing Cold War efforts to promote literatures from their rival spheres of influence produced a profusion of literary translations in magazine and book form, on which enterprising Hindi editors freely drew. This essay focuses on the spectacular special issues curated by Kamleshwar for two Hindi story magazines to explore the nexus between the short story, the magazine, and the world.