Landscape of the Local in the Works of Easterine Kire: A Literary Discourse

Abstract

Easterine Kire, an acclaimed Naga writer, offers a rich and engaging portrayal of the local in her works. Through her fiction, poetry, and non-fiction, Kire captures the indigenous customs, oral histories, and socio-political realities of Nagaland. Her narratives preserve the cultural fabric of the Naga people while exploring themes of identity, memory, conflict, and transformation. This paper explores the panorama of the local in Kire’s works, highlighting her efforts to document oral traditions, ecological wisdom, and the challenges faced by Naga communities in negotiating modernity. Through a detailed analysis of selected works such as 'A Naga Village Remembered,' 'When the River Sleeps,' 'Mari,' and 'Bitter Wormwood,' this paper demonstrates how Kire uses literature to give voice to marginalized narratives and engage with both the local and the global. Her works not only preserve Naga heritage but also foster dialogue about the intersections of tradition and modernity.