Poetry events are few and far between in Hyderabad. So there is much to cheer when an evening of poetry and book release of a collection of poems is announced. The event, ‘The Poetic Cosmos of Sudeep Sen’ promises an evening of laughter and tears and a ticket to a whole new world.
Sen’s Hyderabad sojourn starts on September 19 as he interacts with audiences at Osmania University (10.30am) and Our Scared Space (6pm). On September 20, at 4pm in Lamakaan, Sen will participate in a talk with city-based academic and poet, Jhilam Chattaraj on poetry and the craft of writing. Sen will also read from his works in English and Bengali and painter Uma Makala will launch the book Converse: Contemporary English Poetry by Indians Edited by Sudeep Sen,’ (Pippa Rann Books, UK ). The talk will begin with a dance video on Sen’s poetry by Aditi Mangaldas.
Book cover | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
Sharing his experience as an editor of the book of poems, Sen says, “It was intense and energising — over 15,000 pages of poetry was submitted.” Converse..., as the jacket blurb states, is an “authoritative, intellectually rigorous, judiciously representative — a wide-ranging anthology — an updated, international map of the best of English-language poetry by Indians. Commissioned by Pippa Rann Books (UK) to celebrate the 75th anniversary of India’s independence, Converse... showcases the best of the varied, vibrant, rich, and exciting ‘living’ poets from India and from the Indian diaspora who write in English.”
In a career spanning 35 years, Sen has produced more than 30 volumes of poetry and translations including one on climate change, Anthropocene (Pippa Rann Books), and Sudeep Sen: A Critical Study. Short films — Silence: a triptych. Prayer Flag and Crossing the Lines of Desire as well as songs based on his poems will be shown at the event.
Sen’s literary connection with Hyderabad stems from his meetings with poet Shiv K. Kumar and literary personality Girish Karnad at conferences, and as a judge for Hyderabad-based literary/poetry competitions. He says, “This coming back here to celebrate the publication of these two new books completes a lovely literary arc.”
