Vikram Seth did in 1986. The Golden Gate is a novel written in traditional stanzas of iambic tetrameter. Experimental, retro, daring, historical ... all rolled into one. The story takes place in the Bay Area in the early 80's. Yes, it's a bit dated now, but many of the same issues are still kicking about out here. Tech boom, the intersection of politics and technology, income inequality, sexual identity, personal integrity. The more things change.
For me there was plenty of delight in the verse itself. It's at times corny (especially the rhyme schemes), pleasingly rhythmic, and often very clever. Following a traditional plot through a few hundred pages of verse is an unexpected pleasure. Indeed, prose is only one way of skinning the cat. Sometimes particularly good prose, prose that offers its own pleasures is the real point. And here it's verse, to be appreciated for its own merits. Words for words sake. There's pleasure in just putting words together in pleasing and clever ways. I don't think the character and plot issues are particularly profound, but Seth offers us a very pleasurable verbal pastry. Savor it. Enjoy it for what it is: a forward looking retrogression, a look at the present through an ancient literary lens. The Brits endowed India with a brilliant literary heritage, and here Seth exhibits a rare fluency and reverence. It's like a modern composer writing a traditional fugue. It's a tribute to the past, a reinterpretation, a new version of something old. That kind of constraint has its limits, but it's an interesting niche.
Next, a new short story in Middle English? A 21st century Yiddish classic?
Meanwhile, anxiously awaiting Seth's overdue A Suitable Girl, the sequel to his epic novel A Suitable Boy. Originally expected in 2013, it is now slated for publication in 2016. No matter how long, I'll read it. Total immersion in another world. I'm ready.
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