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Pages: 287 pages

Category: Literature & Fiction › Essays & Correspondence › Essays

Price: $22 USD/ ₹500

Description: A compilation of twenty essays on a variety of aesthetic themes and approaches may seem a daunting reading experience. However, Reflections: Essays on Art, Literature, Cinema and the Social Landscape is unified by each essay’s relevance to the contemporary world. These thoughts and analyses frame compelling conversations against the backdrop of a shifting world dynamic, offering a timeless critique of culture and how it remains relevant in spite of the tides of change. Reflections is an essential companion for anyone seeking to understand how art continues to mirror, challenge, and define our ever-evolving world.

Essays:

1. The Divine Grotesque: A Cross-cultural glimpse of the Muses by Dustin Pickering
2. A Review of Transnationalism and the Construction of ‘Truth’ in Postcolonial Novels by Bashabi Fraser
3. The Architecture of Coercion: Pregnancy as a Site of Surveillance and Disciplinary Control in Rosemary’s Baby by Pradipta Mukherjee
4. Return of the Taliban in Afghanistan? India’s engagement in securing its interest amidst the chaos by Diotima Chattoraj
5. Concentration Camps, Survival, Post-Memory, and Holocaust Literature in Graphic Storytelling by Asmi Mukherjee
6. The Gendered Self: From Idea to Representation by Maria-Ana Tupan
7. Representation of Dalit Identity in Indian Cinema by Shoma A. Chatterji
8. Arun Kolatkar: A Time to Turn Around by Debasish Lahiri
9. Understanding Subjectivity: Navigating Plural Perspectives of Approaching Liberty by Nirjhar Mukherjee
10. Vicious or Vulnerable? Satyajit Ray’s Indigenisation of the Undead in “The Vicious Vampire” by Madhuchhanda Ray Choudhury
11. Reframing Womanhood: A Feminist and Postcolonial Exegesis of Deepa Mehta’s Elements Trilogy by Raj Dutta
12. Subaltern Voices in the Ramayana: Anand Neelakantan’s Reimagining of Ravana and Soorpanakha by Rima Chakraborty
13. Cultural and Religious Superstitions and Their Influence on Medical Practices by Biswarup Mukhopadhyay
14. Stillness, Disclosure and the Clearing: Reading Anton Chekhov’s The Lady with the Little Dog through Heidegger’s Being and Time by Subhadip Das
15. Embracing the Void: Unveiling Nihilism in Vilém Flusser’s Profound Philosophical Discourse by Mote Sreenu and Madhu Jeripothula
16. Speaking the Aesthetic Images: Reflections on Wor(l)d, Vision, and Selfhood by Payel Dutta
17. From Literature to Total Art by Constantin Severin
18. Resistance via Social Media: The ‘Abhaya’ Rape Case by Abhinandita Maity
19. Relating to the Relationship of Relations: The Five Cornerstones of Jayanta Mahapatra’s Writing byUrna Bose
20. Bibek Debroy: A Personal Tribute by Boudhayan Mukherjee

Cover art and design: Sattwik Mondal (connectsattwik@gmail.com)

Editors:

Pradipta Mukherjee is a distinguished film critic and Associate Professor in the Department of English, Vidyasagar College for Women, University of Calcutta. With a dynamic academic and research career that bridges literature and films, she has contributed significantly to the study of cinema, adaptation, and cultural representation.

Dustin Pickering is the founder of Transcendent Zero Press. He has contributed writing to Huffington Post, Los Angeles Review, The Statesman (India), Journal of Liberty and International Affairs, The Colorado Review, World Literature Today, Asymptote Journal, and several other publications.

Currently, Transcendent Zero Press is seeking venues to host book launches and discussion panels related to the book. I sent the following email to several University of Houston- Downtown professors and their cultural centers. So far, we have not booked an event but this email will offer insight into the concept and idea for the presentation. If anyone has connections at universities locally or cultural centers, please let me know or forward them this page link. Comments on this page are welcome as well. #UniversityofHouston #literaryevents

“Hello friends and supporters,

In the upcoming month, Transcendent Zero Press is releasing a collection of essays from scholars across the globe exploring culture and art, and how this intersects with political challenges. Many of the essays invoke philosophical traditions, film studies, and literary themes in broad discussion with social transformation and observation.

The editor and primary compiler of the essays is based in India. As her co-editor and publisher (as well as contributor to the volume), I am looking for spaces to promote the book in person at a Houston-area university or college. The editor is planning to travel here to also be present. Proposed time frame is Oct. 23-Nov. 11 2026. We also request a formal invitation letter from the university once confirmed to help Dr. Mukherjee secure a visa to the United States.

My proposal is to have a book launch and open forum discussion related to ongoing political challenges. The presence of an Indian scholar can offer insight into how India is also shifting its focus. The tone of the event should not be partisan, but invite discussion of humanistic aesthetics across ages and cultures and how this tradition can challenge the growing divide politically and support citizenry as governments usurp free expression.

I am hoping to draw a fair crowd, maybe about 30-40 students and members of the public. Using a space at a university or college can add a layer of authenticity to the event. 

If you have connections locally at any of the institutions like UH, Rice, Lone Star, etc who can direct us to proposing this to the officials there, let me know. Ultimately the event would be a book promo launch with discussion on how art can bridge and unite people during times of political ambiguity and imposition. TZPress has a longstanding commitment to publishing, having published over 100 books and a regular award-nominated quarterly for over a decade as well as hosted literary events in the Houston community since 2013.”

Contact: Editor@transcendentzeropress.org or desireofdogs@gmail.com