Get immersed in poetic exuberance 

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Poets from across the globe will come together for a three-day festival in the state capital next week. The 11th edition of Kritya International Poetry Festival to be organised in association with Bharat Bhavan Thiruvananthapuram and Raza Foundation New Delhi will be held from November 9 to 11.

To be held on the theme ‘Poetry against Xenophobia and Racism’, the festival will see poetry recitation by 24 poets from Turkey, Estonia, Spain, France, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, Mexico, Canada, Egypt, Mongolia, South Africa, Botswana, Belgium and Wales. In addition, Indian poets will recite poems in Malayalam, Gujarati, Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi and Marathi.

The festival will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at Bharath Bhavan on November 9. The meet will be presided over by Ashok Vajpeyi, poet, writer and managing trustee of Raza Foundation. A tribute to late poet ONV Kurup via live painting along with the recitation of his poems in five foreign languages by well known international poets will follow. Live painting will be done by artist and painter B D Dethan. Sugath Kumari will pay tribute to ONV.

The festival will have two additional days of programmes on the previous day of the November 8 at Bharath Bhavan and November 12 at Kayikara Assan Smarakam. “The primary objective of the festival is to plant a seed of global harmony and love across the societies, especially among the young generation. Keeping this vision in mind Kritya festival will take the spirit of poetry amidst the people,” said festival director Rati Saxena.

To reach out to different sections of the society, Kritya poets will perform at different venues including University College, SN College Chempazhanthy and Bharath Bhavan. Under the guidance of poets Madhusudan Nair and  Prabha Verma a session of Poetry Therapy will be held for prison inmates of Poojapura Prison Cell Thiruvananthapuram.  There will also be the screening of short international poetry films at various colleges and at Bharat Bhavan in the evenings.