JOIN USIt is good news for book worms in the Northern Ireland capital of Belfast, as the celebrated Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) is all set to make its debut in the city on June 21.
Hosted by Teamwork Arts, producer of the festival in India, and supported by the British Council Northern Ireland and the Arts Council, the first-ever JLF Belfast will run from June 21 - 23 at select venues in the city, organisers recently said in a statement.
The "grand feast of ideas" during the festival will try and explore themes that bind India and Northern Ireland such as border and partition, and the concepts of identity and migration, among others, they added
"JLF Belfast will explore our common legacy of post-conflict literature, cultural and political impact. The festival will showcase ideas and voices outside of 'Anglo-centric' cultural expectations and will be a celebration of poetry, music and the written word," Sanjoy Roy, managing director of Teamwork Arts, said.
Among participating speakers will be acclaimed travel writer Pico Iyer, writers Brian Keenan and Patrick Gale, and award-winning poet Ruth Padel.
Over the span of three days, the festival will feature around 20 sessions including "Writing from the Brink: Brian Keenan in conversation with Salil Tripathi", "Orientations: Laxmi Narayan Tripathi in conversation with Bee Rowlatt" and "Foremothers: Women and Freedom - Bee Rowlatt, Lucy Caldwell and Namita Gokhale in conversation with Vayu Naidu".
JLF touted to be the 'largest literary show on earth', besides being hosted annually in Jaipur, also has editions in the US, Canada and the UK.