Review
Offers a much-needed contribution to the field of South Asia studies and to the history of religions as a whole ... McDermott's volume is unquestionably the most complete, meticulous, and readable collection of Sakta devotional poetry ever published ... McDermott has succeeded in one of the most difficult tasks of translation - that of remaining true to the literal text while still presenting the poems in a fluid and provocative style that really captures the powerful emotion of the Bengali songs. As such this collection should appeal to a wide audience - not just to South Asian scholars, but to a more general nonacademic audience, as well as to students in graduate and undergraduate classrooms. History of Religions
Review
"English speakers who do not know Bengali should be deeply grateful to Rachel Fell McDermott. In making these intense and beautiful poems available, she has enriched our culture."--Patrick Colm Hogan, author of The Politics of Interpretation (OUP, 1990), and Professor of English and Comparative Literature, University of Connecticut.
"Singing to the Goddess is an instant classic, boasting elegant and accomplished translations appealing to the devotee, but providing balanced introductions, ample endnotes discussing historical contexts . . . and the important discovery of a Tantric genre for the scholar. This work will join other important watershed translations, becoming a required textbook for classes in comparative literature, religions of South Asia, Hinduism, goddess worship, and/or South Asian studies."--Religious Studies Review
