THE DEATH OF THE GODDESS is an epic, narrative poem that is a moving account of affection, personal loss, and grief. Inspired by Buddhism, Indic thought and Hogan’s reading of the Bhagavad Gita, the central figures are two lovers who refuse to accept unjust social hierarchies and suffer separation and death for that choice. In this groundbreaking narrative, Patrick Colm Hogan sets out to re-synthesize ancient Indian philosophy and myth, with a beauty and literary feeling (called “rasa” in Sanskrit) that are the central aspects of this poem. THE DEATH OF THE GODDESS an excellent literary achievement to be read by serious poetry lovers and students in mythology or epic literature alike. Cover Art: Lalita Pandit Hogan.
Contributors
Afterword by Rachel Fell McDermott
RACHEL FELL MCDERMOTT is a Professor and Chair of the Asian and Middle Eastern Cultures Department and specializes in South Asia, especially India. McDermott’s research focuses on the Hindu-goddess-centered religious traditions of the Bengal region of India. She is the co-editor of Breaking Bounda-ries With The Goddess: New Directions In The Study of Saktism. Essays in Honor of Narendra Nath Bhattacharyya (2009), and the author of Mother of My Heart, Daughter of My Dreams: Kali and Uma in the Devotional Poetry of Bengal (2001) and Revelry, Rivalry, and Longing for the God-desses of Bengal: The Fortunes of Hindu Festivals (2011), which focuses on the Durga, Kali, and Jagaddhatra Pujas and the relationship between economics, politics, and religion as seen through the lens of these 300-year-old public festivals.
Here's What People Are Saying
“With THE DEATH OF THE GODDESS, Hogan gifts us a mythic world chock full of tricky gods, demons and mortals that invite us to join them in their celestial and tellurian dances that spin with the joys and upsets of creation. Not since the Divine Comedy, The Epic of Gilgamesh, and the great Sanskrit epic, The Bhagavad Gita has such a timeless masterpiece appeared. It will be treasured as one of the great philosophical epics of the twenty-first century. Extraordinary!” ~Frederick Luis Aldama, Arts and Humanities Distinguished Professor of English at The Ohio State University, and author of Formal Matters in Contemporary Latino Poetry (2013)
“To read THE DEATH OF THE GODDESS is an act of walking-with, an accompanied meditation—Patrick Colm Hogan’s epic poem is the record of a trance. Mythology made human, humanity made divine, divinity made mythology, a cycle of epiphanies. Held up to the light, it refracts a spiritual tradition into a tantalizing spectrum of drama and pleasures, and the language strikes a delicate balance between luxuriance and humility. THE DEATH OF THE GODDESS is a tribute to poetry: the task of harnessing the aether.” ~David A. Colón, associate professor of English and Latino/a Studies, Texas Christian University
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