Today”s poetry news roundup looks at the International Poets Meet in Vijayawada and the poet Louis Jenkins who has died at the age of 77.
International Poets’ Meet in Vijayawada Inaugurated by Governor
The 5th annual meeting of the International Multilingual Poets was inaugurated by the Biswabhushan Harichandan the Governor of Vijayawada at the end of last week. The meeting was organised by the Cultural Centre.
In his opening speech, the governor spoke about the role that poets play in society when it comes to helping provide a direction. He talked about how poets like Ramarajabhushanudu the Telugu poet from the 16th century was a prime example of this.
The 5th edition of the Amaravati Poetic Prism was also launched at the event. The poetry anthology contains a staggering 1303 poems which have been penned in 125 languages by a total of 761 poets hailing from 86 countries all over the world. The anthology contains poems from two poets who have been nominated for the Nobel prize in literature and a further two who are Pulitzer prize nominees. There were also Naji Naaman prize for literature winners included in the anthology.
Previous editions of the anthology have been mentioned in the India Book of Records and also the Limca Book of Records and with each edition that is published the number of poems and also the number of languages that they have been written in have increased and broken any previous records that they have set.
The programme this year will last for two days and will feature a number of top poets from India performing their poems. Some of the poets will also translate their poems into other languages for the event.
Louis Jenkins Dies Aged 77
A lifelong Duluth poet, Louis Jenkins has passed away at the age of 77. Although he had been ill for the last 18 years his death was unexpected.
Jenkins who drew inspiration from landscape that surrounded his was referred to as “One of the masters” by fellow poet Robert Bly.
Born in Enid, Oklahoma, Jenkins had been a resident in Duluth for almost 50 years. The cold, starry night skies, the big lake and the snow were a huge inspiration to him.
Following a collaboration with the actor Mark Rylance, several of Jenkins poems were turned into a play which centred around the lives of two ice fishermen and was set on a lake in Minnesota. The play was premiered in 2013 and was then reworked before it appeared late in 2016 in the West End of London.
Rylance was an admirer of Jenkins and his work and often recited his poetry as part of his acceptance speech at awards ceremonies.
In addition to working as a poet, Jenkins who was often heard saying that poetry really didn’t pay a living also worked as a commercial fisherman, a librarian and a truck driver – jobs that he often used to inspire his work. He published a total of 14 books over his lengthy career.
Louis Jenkins is survived by his wife Ann, and his son Lars.
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