Writer Pratibha Ray inaugurates Chair Poetry Evenings 2019

This year's festival will also launch a book of poems by school children, compiled by Joie Bose. Musician and singer Prajna Dutta will add a musical touch to the poetry readings all through the evenings.

"Poetry from different languages will transcend man-made boundaries during the course of this festival. Listeners will be spell-bound by the imperfect fit between language, perceptions and articulation,” stated, Sonnet Mondal, poet and festival director, Chair Poetry Evenings.

“Poetry has always served as a vital medium of natural discourse and the poems presented during this festival would add to it, said Mr. Tushar Dhawal Singh, poet and festival director, Chair Poetry Evenings."We would witness some of the forbearers of human consciousness speak during the course of this festival,” he added.

The second edition of the festival - started on Nov 22 in Rathindra Mancha, Jorasanko - has a plethora of events spread in different parts of Kolkata.

Eminent names like Brian Turner from USA, Sara F. Costa from Portugal, Elmar Kuiper from Netherlands, Balázs SzÅ‘llÅ‘ssy from Hungary, Hajnal Csilla Nagy from Slovakia will grace the occasion. Poets from India include established names like Arundhathi Subramaniam, Devi Prasad Mishra, Ashutosh Dubey, Hemant Divate, Yashodhara Roy Chaudhuri, Ashwani Kumar,Angshuman Kar, Katyayani, Bina Sarkar Elias, Prabodh Parikh, Koushiki Dasgupta and Abhimanyu Mahato.

The poet’s chair is a metaphor, and the name of the festival was picked and centered around this imagery, said Sonnet Mondal.

In tune with poetry festivals around the globe, venues have been created for the festival in different corners of Kolkata. This has also been done to give the participants a change in scene, as well as to make different parts of the city come alive during the three days of the festival.