London: Some of Ireland’s most
distinguished poets have joined together with their Indian
counterparts to celebrate a week-long festival of languages
and culture in New Delhi, Hyderabad and Kolkata.
Believed to be the first event of its kind, this
cultural festival provides the literary traditions of India
and Ireland an opportunity to build on the shared history of
excellence in poetry from WB Yeats and Rabindranath Tagore
to today’s finest writers and critics, including Nobel
Laureate Seamus Heaney.
The first event, which takes place in Kolkata
tomorrow, has been supported by the British Council and
Queen’s University Belfast, where many of the participating
Irish poets are based, a university release today said.
Those taking part from India are: Ashoke Viswanathan;
Jayanta Mahapatra; Sunil Gangopadhyaly; Professor Nabaneeta
Dev Sen; Srijato and Manang Dai.
The Irish delegation includes: Michael Longley,
Ireland Chair of Poetry and one of the foremost living poets
in the English language; Ciaran Carson, Director of the Seamus
Heaney Centre for Poetry at Queens University; Ed Larrissy,
Professor of Poetry at the School of English at Queen’s;
Pádraigín Ní Uallacháin, traditional singer in residence at
the Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry, and Edna Longley,
Professor Emerita at Queen’s.
Bureau Report
First Published: Tuesday, November 17, 2009, 17:27