<p>In addition to poetry prescribed for college literature courses, Bengaluru is reading poetry in multiple languages, and in translation.</p>.<p>Ahead of World Poetry Day (March 21), instituted in 1999 by UNESCO, <em>Metrolife</em> spoke to bookstores across the city about the readership for poetry.</p>.<p><strong>Niche crowd</strong></p>.<p>Poetry accounts for about 5% of the total sales at Blossom Book House, says Mayi Gowda, proprietor. In a year, he gets 100 to 150 collections by new poets, but only 10 to 15 of them sell, Gowda says. </p>.<p>Poetry books used to sell in good numbers five years ago, says Dhananjay N, proprietor of Vijayanagar-based Beetle Book Shop. “But the advent of social media has affected poetry sales,” he says.</p>.<p>Many poets post their works on platforms like Facebook and Instagram, where they get likes and appreciative comments quickly. That is one reason some don’t bring out print collections.</p>.<p>Poetry by renowned Kannada poets of the 20th century, like Kuvempu do brisk sales at Beetle. A later generation of poets, such as P Lankesh, is also in demand. Works by young poets, like Shruti B R, are slowly gaining in popularity. For a year, the store has been selling about 50 poetry books a month. </p>.Now, a store for old, rare books on Church Street.<p>Readership for poetry is way smaller than the readership for prose, but it is enjoyed by a niche audience, says Sreeja V N, co-founder of the online book store Bahuroopi Book Hub. Poetry collections comprise 20 to 30% of the store’s collection. “Self-help books usually sell the fastest,” she says. </p>.<p><strong>Varied interests</strong></p>.<p>Mayi Gowda notes that while young poets like Connor Franta and Michael Faudet are preferred by Gen Z, those above 40 relate to poets such as Gulzar and Javed Akhtar in translation. “Similarly, Mirza Ghalib and Sahir Ludhianvi are popular across age groups,” he says. Emily Dickinson, the 19th century American poet, is bought frequently at his store.</p>.<p>Prerna Prakash, manager at Atta Galatta, says the city has a strong poetry community. “At our store, children above 10 are interested in poetry by Jerry Pinto,” she says. Those above 18 pick up collections of poetry in Indian languages rendered into English. Romance and motivational poetry is widely popular, she notes.</p>.<p><strong>Indian languages</strong></p>.<p>Nirica Srinivasan, curator at Champaca Bookstore, says Bengalurean poets such as Jeet Thayil are popular. “The store maintains a curated section which focuses on Indian poets and translated poetry,” she says. </p>.<p>At Atta Galatta, Prerna says, poetry in English by Mehak Goyal and Rithvik Singh have a large readership, and some publishers are actively promoting poetry in Hindi and Tamil. </p>.<p>Sreeja says Kannada poets like M R Kamala, Vidyarashmi Pelatadka, Sadashiva Soratur and H S Venkatesh Murthy are popular among those who visit her store. </p>.<p><strong>Top-selling poetry collections</strong></p>.<p>*Eegilli Ellavu Messi by M R Kamala </p>.<p>*Kere Dada by Vidhyarashmi Pelattadka</p>.<p>*Conductor Kavithegalu by Sadashiva Soratur</p>.<p>*Palestine Kavithegalu by Vasantha Bannadi</p>.<p>*Nanjillada Padagalu by Ravi Kumar Telex</p>.<p>(At Bahuroopi Book Hub)</p>
<p>In addition to poetry prescribed for college literature courses, Bengaluru is reading poetry in multiple languages, and in translation.</p>.<p>Ahead of World Poetry Day (March 21), instituted in 1999 by UNESCO, <em>Metrolife</em> spoke to bookstores across the city about the readership for poetry.</p>.<p><strong>Niche crowd</strong></p>.<p>Poetry accounts for about 5% of the total sales at Blossom Book House, says Mayi Gowda, proprietor. In a year, he gets 100 to 150 collections by new poets, but only 10 to 15 of them sell, Gowda says. </p>.<p>Poetry books used to sell in good numbers five years ago, says Dhananjay N, proprietor of Vijayanagar-based Beetle Book Shop. “But the advent of social media has affected poetry sales,” he says.</p>.<p>Many poets post their works on platforms like Facebook and Instagram, where they get likes and appreciative comments quickly. That is one reason some don’t bring out print collections.</p>.<p>Poetry by renowned Kannada poets of the 20th century, like Kuvempu do brisk sales at Beetle. A later generation of poets, such as P Lankesh, is also in demand. Works by young poets, like Shruti B R, are slowly gaining in popularity. For a year, the store has been selling about 50 poetry books a month. </p>.Now, a store for old, rare books on Church Street.<p>Readership for poetry is way smaller than the readership for prose, but it is enjoyed by a niche audience, says Sreeja V N, co-founder of the online book store Bahuroopi Book Hub. Poetry collections comprise 20 to 30% of the store’s collection. “Self-help books usually sell the fastest,” she says. </p>.<p><strong>Varied interests</strong></p>.<p>Mayi Gowda notes that while young poets like Connor Franta and Michael Faudet are preferred by Gen Z, those above 40 relate to poets such as Gulzar and Javed Akhtar in translation. “Similarly, Mirza Ghalib and Sahir Ludhianvi are popular across age groups,” he says. Emily Dickinson, the 19th century American poet, is bought frequently at his store.</p>.<p>Prerna Prakash, manager at Atta Galatta, says the city has a strong poetry community. “At our store, children above 10 are interested in poetry by Jerry Pinto,” she says. Those above 18 pick up collections of poetry in Indian languages rendered into English. Romance and motivational poetry is widely popular, she notes.</p>.<p><strong>Indian languages</strong></p>.<p>Nirica Srinivasan, curator at Champaca Bookstore, says Bengalurean poets such as Jeet Thayil are popular. “The store maintains a curated section which focuses on Indian poets and translated poetry,” she says. </p>.<p>At Atta Galatta, Prerna says, poetry in English by Mehak Goyal and Rithvik Singh have a large readership, and some publishers are actively promoting poetry in Hindi and Tamil. </p>.<p>Sreeja says Kannada poets like M R Kamala, Vidyarashmi Pelatadka, Sadashiva Soratur and H S Venkatesh Murthy are popular among those who visit her store. </p>.<p><strong>Top-selling poetry collections</strong></p>.<p>*Eegilli Ellavu Messi by M R Kamala </p>.<p>*Kere Dada by Vidhyarashmi Pelattadka</p>.<p>*Conductor Kavithegalu by Sadashiva Soratur</p>.<p>*Palestine Kavithegalu by Vasantha Bannadi</p>.<p>*Nanjillada Padagalu by Ravi Kumar Telex</p>.<p>(At Bahuroopi Book Hub)</p>