Tagore, Gitanjali

In the space where intellect and heart combine you will find the writings of Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941). A Bengali polymath, Tagore reshaped his culture’s literature and music by bringing in Contextual Modernism to the traditional prose and verse structures. A Nobel Laureate, Tagore was celebrated around the world for his poetry communicating spiritual wisdom and mystic truths.

Tagore began writing poetry as a young boy and released his first substantial poems at age 16. Equally eloquent in English and in Bengali, Tagore reached readers in both his native land and around the world by spurning rigid classical linguistic forms. In 1901 he released a Bengali collection of 157 poems, titled Gitanjali. The English translation was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913 (making this the first non-European work so honoured), and at that point the West truly began to take note of Tagore and his powerful talent.

It is Verse 44 from Gitanjali, his most beloved collection of poems, that we have selected for this cover. “This is my delight,” writes Tagore in the ecstatic piece, filled with both laughter and tears, that is reproduced on our cover. Even in verses as short as this, Tagore was able to share his enlightened soul and impactful presence. We have selected a warm, bronze tone for this journal, and an iconic portrait of the writer graces the back cover.

Though he remains best known in his native India, where even those who cannot read know his verses by heart, Tagore has inspired readers and writers worldwide. In fact, W.B. Yeats, a fellow Embellished Manuscripts featured author, was a longtime advocate of Tagore and wrote the introduction to the English translation of Gitanjali. Today, Tagore’s expressive writings continue to influence and his legacy endures in the Visva-Bharati University in West Bengal, which he founded in 1921.