Advertisement
Sections
Watch #SpokenVerse with Arundhathi Subramaniam, Aditi Angiras, Santa Khurai, Dhiren Borisa & Anukrti Upadhyay
#SpokenVerse is presented by Firstpost and HarperCollins India and featured five poets over five days — with verses that speak to us all.

This month, Firstpost and HarperCollins India streamed #SpokenVerse: a series of online poetry readings featuring five poets — Arundhathi Subramaniam, Aditi Angiras, Santa Khurai, Dhiren Borisa and Anukrti Upadhyay — across five days, on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Here's a look.***Arundhathi Subramaniam —Poem performed: 'I Speak for Those with Orange Lunch Boxes' (Selected from When God Is A Traveller)Arundhathi Subramaniam is the award-winning author of 12 books of poetry and prose. She has worked over the years as an acclaimed poetry editor, curator and critic. Winner of the inaugural Khushwant Singh Poetry Prize and shortlisted for the 2014 TS Eliot Prize, Subramaniam's When God Is A Traveller is a remarkable book of poetry.Anukrti Upadhyay —Poem performed: 'Daay' (दाय )Anukrti Upadhyay is a bilingual writer with two short novels in English, Daura and Bhaunri, and a short story collection in Hindi, Japani Sarai, published this year. In her other life, she is a law and finance professional, and a conservation enthusiast.Santa Khurai —Poem performed: 'My Father' (Selected from The World That Belongs to Us: An Anthology of Queer Poetry from South Asia, edited by Aditi Angiras and Akhil Katyal)Santa Khurai is a nupi maanbi from Manipur. ('Nupi maanbi' can be translated as indigenous Meetei transwoman.) An artist and activist, Santa works with All Manipur Nupi Maanbi Association (AMANA).Aditi Angiras —Poem performed: 'So Far, So Good'Aditi Angiras is a poet, writer and artist based in New Delhi. She is the founder of Bring Back the Poets, a queer collective of South Asian poets. With Akhil Kayal, she is the editor of The World That Belongs to Us: An Anthology of Queer Poetry from South Asia.Dhiren Borisa —Poem performed: 'Ab Maatam Aur Manaaun Kya' (Selected from The World That Belongs to Us: An Anthology of Queer Poetry from South Asia, edited by Aditi Angiras and Akhil Katyal)Dhiren Borisa is a poet and social geographer based in Delhi. In 2018, he finished his PhD on queer urban cartographies on gay male desires in Delhi at JNU. He writes in English, Hindi, Urdu and Gujarati. He recently finished his Visiting Fellowship at the University of Leicester.
First Published:Jul 23, 2020, 16:08:13 IST
Advertisement
Advertisement

Midhaven on taking Indian Metal to Wacken this year: 'You’re sure to see a heavier, more nuanced performance'
Fresh off winning Wacken Metal Battle India and a 19-city Europe tour, Mumbai metal band Midhaven opens up about blending Indian classical traditions with sludge metal, representing India at Wacken Open Air, and the future of Indian heavy music in an exclusive interview with Firstpost.
5 min read
The woman in Lucian Freud's $39 million portrait was alive to watch herself become history
Decades after sitting for Lucian Freud, Sue Tilley reunited with one of the artist's most celebrated portraits as it headed to auction for $39 million, reflecting on fame, body image and becoming an unlikely muse
2 min read
Alexander McQueen is coming back to London Fashion Week, and its old shows explain why everyone's excited
McQueen will return to London Fashion Week for spring/summer 2027, its first time on the schedule since 2023, and the announcement has sent fashion writers straight back to the unsettling, theatrical shows that made its reputation in the first place.
3 min read
Why the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art is earning international recognition
With a new mega-campus, a former Louvre Abu Dhabi director at the helm, and growing international partnerships, the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art is emerging as a global force in the art world
2 min read
David Hockney dies at 88: The artist who put queer joy on canvas
From swimming pools and sunshine to portraits of lovers and friends, Hockney spent more than six decades showing that queer life could be ordinary, beautiful and full of colour.
2 min read
Advertisement
Advertisement
