8th Chair Poetry Evenings

Today, its the turn of the news piece – 8th Chair Poetry Evenings – Kolkata’s International Poetry Festival ends on a high note.

8th Chair Poetry Evenings

The eighth edition of Chair Poetry Evenings – Kolkata’s International Poetry Festival began at Bharatiya Bhasha Parishad auditorium on the 28th of November. Over three days, poets from thirteen countries presented their works in sixteen different languages in various parts of Kolkata, celebrating empathy, compassion, linguistic and cultural diversity. The inaugural evening featured a breathtaking folk and fusion musical performance by Urmi Choudhury, Sohini Mukherjee and Prajna Dutta.
Susan Rich, Simon Armitage, Mona Arshi, Sasha Debevec-McKenney, Bibhas Roy Chowdhury, Madara Gruntmane, Efe Duyan, Melanie Leblanc, Raka Dasgupta, Peter Verhelst, Gurtej Koharwala, Laura Giordani, Shirish Mourya, Jyoti Shobha, Basilio Belliard, Felipe Juaristi, Kira Wuck, Jonaki Ray, Minakshi Patil and Raquel Santanera presented their poems followed by English translation of their poems. Festival plaques of honor were presented to the invited poets at the Samilton Hotel’s Cloud Tavern. Two new titles from Chair Poetry Books were launched during second day of the festival — Buried History of Poverty by Efe Duyan and Lost and Recovered Light by Vladimir Korkunov.
The festival ended on a high note on a river cruise on the 30th of November.

Over the past eight years, Chair Poetry Evenings has featured poets from more than thirty countries, cementing its place as one of India’s biggest platforms for contemporary world poetry.

Festival director Tushar Dhawal Singh said “Poetry remains a quiet act of resistance — a voice of humanity against violence and indifference. Chair Poetry Evenings honors this diversity of thought and feeling, reminding us that even in turmoil, the human spirit continues to sing.”

Festival Director Sonnet Mondal noted “In an age darkened by war and shrinking freedoms, poetry offers refuge. Kolkata’s cultural legacy keeps this dialogue alive, and through this festival we hope to revive faith in imagination and the bonds that unite us.”