Migritude at the Kolkata Literary Festival
VIEW EVENT DETAILSMigritude is the US debut of internationally acclaimed poet, playwright, and activist Shailja Patel. Part memoir, part political history, part performance tour-de-force, Migritude weaves together family history, reportage, and monologues of violence, colonization, and love, to create an achingly beautiful portrait of women's lives and migrant journeys undertaken in the boot print of empire.
Join:
Shailja Patel, poet and author, Migritude
Sugata Bose, Gardiner Professor of Oceanic History and Affairs and Director of the South Asia Initiative, Harvard University
Tilottama Tharoor, Master Teacher, New York University
In a discussion on:
"Migrations, Connections, and Identities"
The movement of people across borders has been a central and continuous phenomenon in human history. The millions who have migrated, and their movements, have significantly shaped society. Yet, they are often cast as outsiders who grapple to define their identities and assert their place in the context of new homes. Our panelists will explore how varied mediums such as poetry and historical mapping can examine the lasting impact of movements across the Indian subcontinent and beyond in the wake of colonialism. They will inspect how the absence of migrants voices affects the lands they have left, and how the migrant and home communities react to each other.
Shailja Patel was born and raised in Kenya, has lived in London and San Francisco, and now divides her time between Nairobi and Berkeley. Trained as a political economist, accountant and yoga teacher, she honed her poetic skills in performances that have received standing ovations on three continents. She has been described by the Gulf Times as "the poetic equivalent of Arundhati Roy" and by CNN as "the face of globalization as a people-centered phenomenon of migration and exchange." Patel has appeared on the BBC World Service, NPR and Al-Jazeera. Her work has been translated into twelve languages. She is a recipient of a Sundance Theatre Fellowship, an African Guest Writer Fellowship from the Nordic Africa Institute, the Fanny-Ann Eddy Poetry Award from IRN-Africa, the Voices of Our Nations Poetry Award, a Lambda Slam Championship, and the Outwrite Poetry Prize.
Join:
Shailja Patel, poet and author, Migritude
Sugata Bose, Gardiner Professor of Oceanic History and Affairs and Director of the South Asia Initiative, Harvard University
Tilottama Tharoor, Master Teacher, New York University
In a discussion on:
"Migrations, Connections, and Identities"
The movement of people across borders has been a central and continuous phenomenon in human history. The millions who have migrated, and their movements, have significantly shaped society. Yet, they are often cast as outsiders who grapple to define their identities and assert their place in the context of new homes. Our panelists will explore how varied mediums such as poetry and historical mapping can examine the lasting impact of movements across the Indian subcontinent and beyond in the wake of colonialism. They will inspect how the absence of migrants voices affects the lands they have left, and how the migrant and home communities react to each other.
Shailja Patel was born and raised in Kenya, has lived in London and San Francisco, and now divides her time between Nairobi and Berkeley. Trained as a political economist, accountant and yoga teacher, she honed her poetic skills in performances that have received standing ovations on three continents. She has been described by the Gulf Times as "the poetic equivalent of Arundhati Roy" and by CNN as "the face of globalization as a people-centered phenomenon of migration and exchange." Patel has appeared on the BBC World Service, NPR and Al-Jazeera. Her work has been translated into twelve languages. She is a recipient of a Sundance Theatre Fellowship, an African Guest Writer Fellowship from the Nordic Africa Institute, the Fanny-Ann Eddy Poetry Award from IRN-Africa, the Voices of Our Nations Poetry Award, a Lambda Slam Championship, and the Outwrite Poetry Prize.
Event Details
Fri 14 Jan 2011
ICCR, 9A, Ho Chi Minh Sarani, Kolkata - 700 071, West Bengal, India Kolkata
See Kolkata Literary Festival for event/ticket details.