This collection presents 145 brief Bengali lyric poems dedicated to the Hindu goddesses Kali and Uma. These poems were written from the early-18th century up to the contemporary period. They represent the Bengali tradition of goddess worship (Saktism) as it developed over this period.

"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 "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