That time of the year: Three-day literature festival begins Friday

Speakers include renowned local, international poets, writers and intellectuals.

ISLAMABAD: The three-day Islamabad Literature Festival (ILF), that kicks-off from April 24 at a local hotel, promises to bring together celebrated local as well as international writers, poets and scholars. 

The event will feature debates, discussions, lectures, poetry recitals, book launches, and reading sessions.

Produced by the Oxford University Press and directed by Ameena Saiyid, the festival has been an annual event for the past two years. This year, the ILF will host 172 speakers and 60 literary sessions.

Prominent speakers that will be participating in the event for the first time include Aitzaz Ahsan, former chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhary, Abida Hussain, Hina Gillani, Asif Raza Mir, Shahid Nadeem, Sarwar Nadeem, Zubaida Jalal, Indu Mitha, American poet Zaffar Kunial and Pulitzer-prize winning author Paul Harding.

Other notable speakers include Almas Bobby, Farzana Bari, Feryal Ali Gauhar, Haseena Moin, Intizaar Hussain, Nasim Zehra, Mushahid Hussain, Muhammad Hanif, Talat Hussain and Zehra Nigah.

Some of the more interesting sessions to look forward to include a classical dance performance choreographed by Indu Mitha, APS Peshawar students’ discussion on mental trauma, an Indian transgender Laxami Narayan Tripathi speaking on her book “Mein Laxami, Mein Hijrah”, a session on “Judicial activism or justice overdone” chaired by Iftikhar Chaudhary, and “From Lollywood to Bollywood and back” by Pran Neville.

Founder and director of the festival in Karachi and Islamabad, Ameena Saiyid, while speaking at a press conference on Monday, said she wanted literature festivals to turn into a social movement [just] as India has had 67 literature festivals last year.

“Literature enthusiasts in Faisalabad already seemed to have picked our vibe as they arranged their own literature festival in November last year. We want other cities to follow suit,” she said.

Saiyid added that unlike the previous ILFs, they had decided to carry few sessions on politics as well. “This time around, it will be a good opportunity for the general public to engage with prominent politicians or even hold them answerable for their controversial moves,” she added.

“Another thing we are doing differently this year is to arrange a session by literary agents and publishers such as Om Arora, Ashok Chopra and Jessica Wollard,” she explained.

Other highlights of the festival include 22 book launches.

Saiyid said the previous events had worked as a cultural catalyst where enthusiasts did not only show up to listen but also wanted to be heard and noticed through the forum.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 21^st, 2015.