Kirtinath Kurtkoti (1928-2003) belongs to the rare but powerful tradition of multilingual literary and cultural criticism in India. His oeuvre encompasses commentaries on the entire spectrum of Kannada literature, from the earliest extant writings to late-twentieth-century works. Kurtkoti’s critical writings highlight the unique sensibility of the Kannada literary tradition, placing it in the broader context of Indian and world literature. His analytical framework is essentially comparative, offering close readings of works through a broader theoretical perspective. In this multilingual comparative framework, he utilized his extensive familiarity with Kannada, Marathi, Hindi, Gujarati, Sanskrit, English and other European literatures, as well as Indian and European schools of philosophy and aesthetics.

Courtesy of Criticism brings some of his important essays on Kannada literature to non-Kannada readers. Divided into three sections—'Literary History', 'Literary Theory' and 'Literary Criticism'—the book showcases thirty-one short and long essays by Kurtkoti which are among his essential writings. The book has a twofold purpose: to introduce to the reader the significant body of Kurtkoti’s works and, through these essays, to highlight the significant strands of the Kannada literary tradition. Courtesy of Criticism demonstrates the subtle ways in which a mind, enriched by its own traditions and eclectic literacy, can transcend received structures of knowledge.

Kirtinath Kurtkoti (Author)
Kirtinath Kurtkoti (1928-2003) was a renowned scholar, critic, playwright and translator who wrote in both English and Kannada. Born in Gadag, Karnataka, he pursued his education in Gadag and Dharwad. Kurtkoti began his career as an English lecturer, initially teaching in Belgaum and Pune before joining Vithalbhai Patel College, Vallabh Vidyanagar in Gujarat, and later Sardar Patel University, Anand, Gujarat. Although he began his writing career with poetry and drama, his shift to critical writing was decisive. He wrote extensively in Kannada and occasionally in English. Kurtkoti served on several prestigious literary organizations, including the Language Advisory Committee of the Jnanapith Award, Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi, and Karnataka Sahitya Akademi, Bangalore. He was also an adviser to the renowned Kannada-language publishing house Manohar Grantha Male. After retiring in 1988, Kurtkoti lived in Dharwad until his death in 2003.

Kamalakar Bhat (Translator)
Kamalakar Bhat is a professor and head of the postgraduate department of English of Ahmednagar College, Ahmednagar, Maharashtra. He is an award-winning bilingual writer, a columnist and a translator between English, Hindi, Marathi and Kannada. He has three collections of poems and three collections of translated verse in Kannada. He has edited three books in English. His essays and translations have appeared in Outlook magazine, Scroll.in, Wire.in, Muse India, Indian Literature, kitaab.org, indianculturalforum.com, The Bombay Literary Magazine and bengalurureview.com.