Lamakaan dedicates a joyful evening to the poetic cosmos of Sudeep Sen

Hyderabad: ‘The Poetic Cosmos of Sudeep Sen’ – an evening of poetry, film screenings, and conversations was recently held at Lamakaan, Banjara Hills. The internationally-acclaimed poet, editor, and artist, Sudeep Sen read from his works in English and Bengali. In a career spanning 35 years, Sen has produced more than 30 volumes of poetry and translations and has won several national and global accolades.

He has always shared a deep literary relationship with Hyderabad. At Lamakaan, Sen was in conversation with city-based academic and poet Jhilam Chattaraj. ‘Converse: Contemporary Indian Poetry in English’, published by Pippa Rann Books, UK, and edited by Sudeep Sen was released by painter Uma Makala during the event. Poems by contributors like Adil Jussawalla and Mamang Dai were read out. Sharing his experience as the editor, Sen said, “It was intense and energising over 15,000 pages of poetry was submitted.”

‘Converse’, as the jacket blurb states, is an “authoritative, intellectually rigorous, and judiciously representative; a wide-ranging anthology; an updated, international map of the best of English-language poetry by Indians. Commissioned by Pippa Rann Books (UK) to celebrate the 75th anniversary of India’s Independence, ‘Converse’ showcases the best of the varied, vibrant, rich, and exciting ‘living’ poets from India and from the Indian diaspora who write in English.”

Sen’s book on climate change, ‘Anthropocene’, also published by Pippa Rann Books, was another highlight of the evening. Other works like ‘Sudeep Sen: A Critical Study, Gallerie’ by Dr Rama Nair was available for the audience.

Poetry lovers of the city were in for a treat on the evening which turned out to be a joyful soiree of soulful poetry, music and interaction. The audience asked Sen about his poetic inspiration from the city of Hyderabad.