Poetry, identity and the geography of culture: representations of landscape in poetry in English from Northeast India.

This paper hopes to argue that the representations of and engagements with landscape by poets writing in English in Northeast India are embedded within the larger cultural and political contexts of the region. Indigenous communities across the world attach profound cultural, political, economic and spiritual significance to the territories they traditionally inhabit. It is for this reason that the preservation of their natural environment becomes crucial to the preservation of their cultural identities. Representations of the landscape by poets of Northeast India reflect the significance attached to and the intimate relationship shared with the natural environment by its diverse indigenous communities. The poets also display their awareness of the threats of ecological degradation faced by the region and the anxiety these threats have produced amongst the local population. The paper will try to understand the political dynamics behind the nostalgic associations ascribed to landscape in the poetry written in English in Northeast India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]