Indian, Irish poets create 'world first' cultural event

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.