HYDERABAD: Talk about the literature festivals and those grand dais with heavy-weight names come to mind. While, it’s good to see that in India the lit fests are celebrating arts and literature that bring attendees who are curious to explore more books, more writers/poets even if they themselves might not be connoisseurs in any right. And it is interesting to see that it’s not just the big cities that are taking the wagon ahead, small towns wrapped in their own time-zones, too, have been part of the literary scene. Despite a few challenges, the interest and efforts of the participants and organisers remain high. The 10th edition of Guntur Poetry Festival organised every year in the quaint Andhra town of Guntur proves the point.
Poets from eight countries: Uzbekistan, USA, Thailand, Pakistan, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Oman and Bangladesh will be joining the poetry fest to be held at JKC College, Guntur on September 21 and 22. The festival directors P Gopichand and Panchamurthi Nagasuseela are going to launch an anthology themed on world peace that features poems by several poets from the country and abroad. The book cover is quite in sync with the theme featuring the serene face of Gautam Buddha.
Both the organisers are professors of English Literature at JKC College and have been oragnising the poetry festival for the past one decade. “We have been doing it without any sponsorship or corporate support. Through this yearly poetry festival, we try to bring together several poets whose works can bring in some change to this world which is in desperate need of healing,” says Prof Nagasuseela.
This year 236 poets will be joining the festival. The real draw of the fest is that entry is free and it is accessible for the poetry lovers to allow them to meet and interact with the poets both well-known and upcoming. While there’s a flavour to each literature festival with addition of cultural and art events, this festival focusses only on poetry. Though other festivals offer broad spectrum of cultural activities, poetry fests like these tend to attract more attendees because of their single and dedicated focus.
Highlights:
Poetry reading sessions in English and world languages
Panel discussions on ‘Recent trends in
Regional Poetry’
Launch of postal stamp
Peace march to the Guntur Collectorate
Slogan writing on peace