Material Devotion in a South Indian Poetic World

Nothing compares to medieval Tamil poetry for bringing devotion and divinity to life. Leah Elizabeth Comeau masterfully enters this life by engaging the Tirukkovaiyar as it is meant to be encountered, read deeply and slowly, lingering in its smells, sights, sounds, and emotions. Attending as well to the work's reverberations through local landscapes, sculpture, ritual, and architecture, this book is a feast for the mind and the senses. * Corinne Dempsey, Professor & Rosemarie Beston Chair for Global Studies in Religious Studies, Nazareth College of Rochester, USA *
Manikkavacakar’s Tirukkovaiyar, a classic of world literature, has long been due for an updated scholarly analysis in English, now addressed by Leah Elizabeth Comeau’s elegant study of the poem and its rich literary world. Using new theories of material religion, she provides a sensory-centered reading, revealing that the material sensations of nature, human love, and divine presence combine into a frisson of proximity that is at the center of devotional experience. * Karen Pechilis, NEH Distinguished Professor of Humanities and Professor of Comparative Religion, Drew University, USA *
Leah Elizabeth Comeau’s Material Devotion in a South Indian Poetic World offers a timely analysis of one of the most significant works of Saiva bhakti or devotional literature from the Tamil-speaking southern part of India ... Comeau’s book charts important new directions for the study of Tamil poetics, South Asian religions, and material studies while presenting a refreshingly lucid account of an incredibly complex poetic composition, and her work should inspire other scholars to follow her lead. * Journal of the American Academy of Religion *