Writing in the Himalayas is no longer sacred but it is no less powerful. It has been unleashed from the forms and functions of feudalism but now only finds true freedom when it slips through cracks in the supervision of the state. Writers in Tibet compose in Chinese. Writers from Tibet compose in exile. Chinese writers compose about Tibet. The state of poetry and prose in this ancient culture are newborn genres struggling to stand, crawl, and run away from stereotypes before they are swallowed by romanticism of the west, politics of the diaspora, propaganda of the party, and religion of the past. Yet still, for all its elusive and slippery maneuverings, writing in Tibet wrestles with an age-old conflict that can be confined neither by mountain range nor manmade walls: how does the individual create identity in the face of pressures and expectations from authority, society, modernity and the past?

The Tibetan and Himalayan Library site at http://www.thlib.org/encyclopedias/literary/ is an amazing resource for learning about all things written in the area in the past. This site is great source for information about Jataka Tales, the ins and outs of translated texts, and the formal structures of poetry in feudal Tibet.

It is fairly easy to find primary and secondary sources for Tibetan writers in exile. Sources, especially primary texts, concerning writers inside Tibet and China are harder to come by.

Tibetan Literature: Studies in Genre is an exhaustive look at old school writing from the region. It would probably be too much for students but would make an invaluable instructional resource. A full online copy seems to be available at the THL site above.

A thorough look at Eastern influences on Western writers can be found in P.Lal's article. A review by Lama Jabb of the book Modern Tibetan Literature and Social Change provides a good overview of the influence historical modes and styles have had on modern writers. This article by Dr. Bharati Puri also looks at how modern Tibetan authors "transcend the past while staying firmly rooted to it." Riika J. Virtanen's writing looks at the water imagery in Dondup Gyal's groundbreaking "Waterfall of Youth" poem. Finally, Steven J. Venturino also attempts to look at Tibetan writing's place in the pantheon of world literature.

One last note: finding reliable primary sources online (or anywhere short of Amazon) can be frustrating, and while it is difficult to trust sources that are not published scholars (we're tatlking about translations emerging from a socialist country!), this blog does look strong. It's creative and has good links, and it seems to have "Waterfall of Youth" without the intended typography. Might be worth checking out: http://tsetso.blogspot.com/