Poetry has always been a delicacy with layers upon it. Each layer renders a different flavor which you savor and then you are hit with an amalgamation that blows your mind.
This November, Chair Poetry Literary Trust has curated an international palate for the connoisseur of words under the banner of Chair Poetry Evenings. With poets like Vladimir Matinovski (Macedonia), John W Sexton (Ireland), Miriam Van hee (Belgium), Alfred Schaffer (Netherlands), Les Wicks (Australia), Barbara Pogacnik (Slovenia), Yekta (France), C.P. Surendran, K Satchidanandan, Nitoo Das, Rajesh Joshi, Arun Kamal, Manglesh Dabral, Subodh Sarkar and Binayak Bandopadhyay gracing the event, the city looks prepared to indulge in a aromatic mix.
Poetry readings and discussions would take place in different venues in Kolkata including Rotary Sadan Hall, Calcutta Heritage Bungalow, and Sasha’s Studio. The closing event of the festival would be on the river Ganga with Poetry readings and music on the Cruise. With a combination Macedonian, Flemish, Dutch, Irish, French, Slovenian, Hindi, Malayalam, Bengali and English poetry, this festival covers a wide range of languages from both widely recognized poets and upcoming names in the arena of poetry. Eminent poet Padma Bhushan Sankha Ghosh will inaugurate this event on 23rd November at Rotary Sadan hall.
The festival looks decked up to offer the city with a world of sweet memories with hints of spices to feed the soul. Details to register visit to this festival can be found in its website www.chairpoetryevenings.org.
The trust has also declared a ‘Poet in residence program’ to be hosted in Kolkata from December to January. Two to three selected poets from across the globe would be offered a stay for a month in the city with a scholarship to cover up their costs in City. The poets would work on their latest manuscript and will also be offered an opportunity to present public readings in the city.
“The festival aims at building consciousness through poetry. Art and Poetry are the expressions of human consciousness. We endeavor to bring together the civil society in an interaction with thoughts, ideas, and questions related to human existence,” festival director Tushar Dhawal Singh said. “The session would be interactive, where the audience can interact with the poets,” he added.
“As the planet becomes progressively anxious with sociopolitical, radical, cultural, ethnonational skirmishes, we consider the role of Poetry as a restorative and a potent mean of diffusing values and experiences – all the more pertinent”, festival co-director Sonnet Mondal added. The festival takes place from 23rd to 25th November this year.
