Plato rightly says that poetry is the product of imagination not that of rational thinking. Therefore, the life portrayed in poetry is not real. It is just what the poet imagines it to be. Poetry is imitation of life which is an imitation of what he calls ‘Forms’. Therefore, poetry does not help the reader to understand the real. It is the nature of poetry. Everyone accepts this argument of Plato. Having discussed the nature of poetry, Plato goes on to discuss how and why poetry influences the readers. Poetry does not prompt the readers to think rationally. Poetry holds reason prisoner and sets man on a flight of fancy. In other words, poetry appeals to emotions and feelings, not to rational thinking. It gives pleasure not knowledge to the readers. According to Plato poetry often “fed and watered the passions” and “ruled” the readers. These comments show clearly that he was well aware of the poetic method. Plato classified poetry into dithyrambic and mimetic. The dithyrambic poetry is entirely lyrical. Poetry such as drama and epic are mimetic. In drama, the poet imitates the speech and actions of man. However, epic contains lyrics also. According to Plato, an epic is better than a drama. This is widely accepted even today. Plato also discusses the nature of the pleasures the tragedies and comedies arouse in the spectators. Although the explanations are not convincing, it was Plato who raised such questions first. We may not agree with Plato on many points. However is remains a fact that it was Plato who first discussed the nature of what we call literature today.

One of the greatest writers of Malaylam, Madhavikutty or Kamla surayya passed away on 31 May 2009. She had been ailing and bedridden for some tine. She was a diabetic and had hypertension. The end came around 1.55, am, Sunday. She was living in Pune with her son.
Widely known as Madhavikutty among the readers of Malayalam, Ami, was born on 31 March 1932.She was the daughter of Mr.V.M.Nair, former managing editor of the Mathrubhoomi daily in Malayalam, and Balamaniamma, a great poetess in Malyalam, at Punnayurkulam (Thrissur District) in Kerala. The famous writer Nalappat Narayana Menon, who translated the famous work of Victor Hugo Les Miserables into Malyalam as “Paavangal”, was Madhavikutty’s grand uncle.
She has written poems, short stories and novels. She was also a good painter. Readers in English know her by the name Kamala Das. Many of her poems in English are world famous. She had the Midas touch and whatever she wrote was received by the readers with great enthusiasm.
Although she began writing poems at a tender age, she took to writing seriously only after her marriage at the age of 15. Her husband Mr. Das, older than her by several years, encouraged her to write.
“Mathilukal”, (The Walls) that came out in 1955 was her first published work.
Her autobiography “My Story”, published in 1976, when she was 42, was very controversial. In it she barred her mind as no one else had done before. She openly talked about the desires of the female mind with great abandon. She was so bold and frank that she was labeled as a nymphomaniac.
Just as her poems, her short stories and novels also spoke about unfulfilled dreams and desires of the female psyche. She valued freedom more than anything else. In one of her poem ‘Parunthu’ (The Eagle), she wrote that she wanted to fly in the sky like an eagle, as there is no trap or anyone to cheat over there. Her language was refreshing, delicate and moving. She did not follow the style of any of her predecessors, or contemporaries. Even her mother has not influenced her writing. She was a never ending source of love and affection to all.
She successfully created her own idiom both in English and Malayalam and articulated her joys and sorrows to her readers. Her readers yearned for more and more from her. And she on her part never disappointed them. Poems and stories in English and Malayalam flowed from her heart that spoke about unfulfilled love, breached trust and wounded minds. She once said, “Each poem is born out of pain, which I would like to share”.
Many recognitions and awards came her way. The Vayalar Award, (1994); The Asan World Prize; Kerala Sahitya Academy Award,(1968); The Asian Poetry Prize (1964);Ezhuthachan Award, Kent Award (1965),Kendra Sahitya academy Award, are some of the recognitions that she has won. She has also won a doctorate from the World Academy of Arts and Culture. In 1984 she had been nominated for the Nobel Prize for Literature.
Many of her works have been translated into German, Swedish, Spanish, Russian, Japanese and French. Besides, many of her poems have been included in the text books at the school and the university level.
She has also held high positions at many institutions. She was the Vice Chairperson of the Kerala Sahitya Academy, The Chairperson of the State Forestry Board, The president of the Kerala Children’s Film society etc.

Frankfurt University and the University of Singapore have recorded her voice.

Madhavikutty has served as visiting professor at Columbia University, Vermount University, University of Kingstone, Melbourne University, the University of Singapore etc.

She has served as the Poetry editor of the Illustrated Weekly of India,Femina and the Poet. she was also the president of the Kerala Children's Fillm Society and the Chairman of the Kerala Forestry Board.

Famous works in Malayalam:

Mathilukal (1955)
Pakshiyudae Manam (1964)
Naricheerukal Parakkumbol (1966)
Thanuppu (1968)
Balyakala Smaranakal (1987)
Varshangalku Mumbu (1989)
Palayan (1990)
Neypayasam (1991)
Diary Kurippukal (1992)
Neermathalam Poothakaalam (1994)
Chekkerunna Pakshikal (1996)
Nashtapetta Neelambari (1998)
Vandikkalakal (2005)

Famous works in English:

The Sirens (1964)
Summer in Calcutta (1965).It won her the prestigious Kent Award.
The Descendants (1967)
The Old Playhouse and Other Poems (1973)
My Story (1976)
Alphabet of Lust (1977)
Annamali Poems (1985)
Padmavati and Other Stories (1992)
Only the Soul Knows How to Sing 1996)
Ya Allah (2001, after her conversion to Islam on16 December 1999)

THE Canadian writer Alice Munroe has won the 2009 The Man Booker International Prize for fiction. The prize was instituted in 2004. She will get £60,000 as prize money. The panel of judges declared that, “Alice Munroe is mostly known as a short story writer, and yet she brings as much depth, wisdom and perfection to every story as most novelists bring to a lifetime of novels”. The prize will be given to her on 25 June in Dublin.
Indian writers such as Mahasweta Devi, V.S.Naipaul had also been short listed for the prize. This prize is given once in every two years, unlike the annual Booker Prize, to a living author for the author’s life time achievement. Munroe, one of the most celebrated writers of Canada said that she was “totally amazed and delighted” at being selected for the prize. Amit Chaudhury, an Indian author and a member of the panel of judges said that reading Munroe’s work amounted “to learn something every time that you never thought of before”.
Judge Jane Smiley, (the Pulitzer prize-winning American novelist) said “Her work is practically perfect. Any writer has to gawk when reading her because her work is very subtle and precise”. She portrays the life in the small-town in rural Ontario. The discerning reading public noticed her when she published her first collection of stories “Dance of the Happy Shades” I968.Canada’s prestigious prize, the governor General’s Literary Award was given to it. The “Lives of Girls and Women”, published in 1971, won the Canadian Booksellers Association International Book Year Award. “The Beggar Mind” had been shortlisted for the Booker in 1980.
The Man Booker International Prize is given once in every two years unlike the Booker Prize. The Booker Prize is a prize given annually for the best original full length novel’ written in English. The writer must be a citizen of the Commonwealth countries. The citizens of Ireland are also eligible to win the prize. Booker-McConnell is the sponsors of the prize. The prize instituted in 1968, was earlier, known as the Booker-McConnell Prize. It became the Booker prize in 2002 when the Booker Prize foundation assumed charge of the prize. It is an advisory committee, which includes an author, a librarian, a book shop owner, two publishers and a Chairperson that selects the panel of judges. Writers, critics, prominent public figures constitute the judging panel.

Alice Munroe’s Works:

Dance of the Happy Shades, 1968: Debut collection of short stories; wins the Governor General's Award for Fiction.
Lives of Girls and Women, 1971: Collection of linked stories chronicling the life of character Del Jordan.
Who Do You Think You Are?, 1978: Fourth book, another linked story collection; wins a second Governor General's Award for Fiction. Released in the U.S. and Britain under the title The Beggar Maid: Stories of Flo and Rose; nominated under that title to the 1980 Booker Prize short list.
The Progress of Love, 1986: Sixth book; wins third Governor General's Award for Fiction.
Friend of My Youth, 1990: Winner of the Trillium Book Award.
The Love of a Good Woman, 1998: Ninth collection of original stories; wins the Giller Prize.
Runaway, 2004: Wins a second Giller Prize.
The View from Castle Rock, 2006: Most recent original collection; draws on Munro's own life and her Laidlaw family tree in Scotland and Ontario.
Too Much Happiness, 2009: Thirteenth original collection, due out in August.