Poetry of Crises and Loss: A Conversation with Sudeep Sen
Periods of uncertainty and crisis have often spurred outpourings of creativity. Faced with the trauma of climate change and pandemic lockdowns, people are turning to poetic forms of expression to find meaning and solace. The Academy of American Poets announced that traffic on its website had surged by 30% in 2020, along with a mushrooming of virtual poetry readings and workshops.
Join Columbia Global Centers | Mumbai for a conversation hosted by the Center's Director, Ravina Aggarwal, featuring writer, literary editor, and Columbia School of Journalism alumnus ('89), Sudeep Sen, author of a new collection of poems entitled Anthropocene: Climate Change, Contagion, Consolidation. The program will showcase the expressive styles and processes that poets are using to capture the zeitgeist of our times, and discuss ways in which poetry can foster solidarity, resilience, and healing.
About the Speaker:
Sudeep Sen is a writer, poet, literary editor and alumnus of the Columbia Journalism School. His prize-winning books include Postmarked India: New & Selected Poems (HarperCollins), Rain, Aria (A. K. Ramanujan Translation Award), Fractals: New & Selected Poems | Translations 1980-2015 (London Magazine Editions), EroText (Vintage: Penguin Random House), Kaifi Azmi: Poems | Nazms (Bloomsbury) and the most recent collection of poems, Anthropocene: Climate Change, Contagion, Consolation (Pippa Rann). He has edited influential anthologies, including: The HarperCollins Book of English Poetry (editor), World English Poetry, and Modern English Poetry by Younger Indians (Sahitya Akademi). Sen’s works have been translated into over 25 languages and have appeared in the Times Literary Supplement, Newsweek, Guardian, Observer, Independent, Telegraph, Financial Times, Herald, Poetry Review, Literary Review, Harvard Review, Hindu, Hindustan Times, Times of India, Indian Express, Outlook, India Today, and broadcast on BBC, PBS, CNN IBN, NDTV, and Doordarshan. He is the editorial director of AARK ARTS, editor of Atlas, and currently the inaugural artist-in-residence at the Museo Camera, Gurugram. He is the first Asian honoured to deliver the Derek Walcott Lecture and read at the Nobel Laureate Festival, and has been awarded the senior fellowship for “outstanding persons in the field of culture/literature” by the Government of India.