City of Mirrors

City of Mirrors is so far the most important publication dedicated to the poetry of Lālan Sā͂i in the international scholarly arena... Apart from representing an unprecedented work for students and schol-ars interested in Lālan Fakir, in Baul studies, and in South Asian literatures, this book can be extremely useful also for those interested in discussions on Sufism, Yoga, Tantra, anthropology and ethnomusicology of South Asia. * Carola Lorea, Religions of South Asia *
City of Mirrors: Songs of Lālan Sai is a magisterial work by the late Carol Salomon, ably reconstructed from notes and drafts by Keith E. Cantú and Saymon Zakaria...Salomon's knowledge of, and expertise with, local Bengali dialects, her comprehensive field work, and her remarkable translation skills are all combined in this splendid volume that presents her renderings of one hundred thirty-seven Bāul songs by Lālan...The scholarly community should embrace this superb publication and remember Carol Salomon for her many years of contributions to our understanding of the fascinating traditions of the Bāuls. * Glen Alexander Hayes, Reading Religion *
There are very few literary undertakings as risky as translations, and cultural translations from an oriental language to one comprehensible in the West endure a shaky relationship pinned beneath the weight of troublesome, hegemonic histories * Robina Rashid Bhuiyan, The Daily Star *
Thirty years ago, a passionate Professor from the University of Washington's Department of Asian Languages and Literatures embarked on a unique journey to penetrate the little known spiritual syncretism of Bauls, seeking to undo the much lamented obfuscation of Lalon Shai's works caused by problematic translations, and little concerted efforts towards that direction. Aside from deep research, Dr. Carol Salomon, one of the only few non-Bangalees in the world with a PhD in Bangla, maintained close friendships with folk researchers and artistes in Bangladesh in an endeavour to deliver a project that retained historical and contextual authenticity, with annotated translations offering insight into a virtually unknown world. The work culminated in a volume titled City of Mirrors: Songs of Lālan Sā~i, edited by noted folk researcher Saymon Zakaria and Keith E Cantú, published by Oxford University Press on August 17 this year. * Saymon Zakaria, The Daily Star *
This posthumously published volume contains Carol Salomon's (1948-2009) annotated translation of 137 songs by Phakir ("Fakir") Lālan Sa¯&Íi (assertedly 1778-1890), purportedly the most revered Bāul practitioner of all time. * Ratul Ghosh, Orientalistische Literaturzeitung 2022 *