Poetry Circle 2.0 to host its first book launch in Mumbai, carrying forward a four-decade legacy

The late poet Nitin Mukadam at the mic, with Menka Shivdasani, Charmayne D’Souza, Dom Moraes, Roy Albuquerque, and Dr R Raj Rao

In 1986, when late Nitin Mukadam called Menka Shivdasani to ask if there was an audience for poetry, she was sceptical, having heard senior poets express doubt. Later, on a quest to find the answer, Mukadam, Shivdasani, and Akil Contractor, three young poets at the time, met at the Parisian Café near Shivdasani's office in Fort. They agreed that there was a need for an organisation which could offer poets a space to ‘share their work, hone their craft, and find a community'. This is how Poetry Circle was born nearly four decades ago.

At the first Poetry Circle 2.0 workshop. Pics courtesy/Peter Griffin, Menka Shivdasani

"Reviving the Poetry Circle had been on my mind for some years, particularly after Nitin's passing. I wanted his legacy to be remembered," she tells us, having hosted a successful few events of Poetry Circle 2.0. "The revival event was an emotional experience for me, especially since Nitin's wife and son, Dina and Mihir, were present, and because the Poetry Circle did so much to shape my own life," she recollects. "Dr R Raj Rao came from Pune; we used to have committee meetings at his home, where his mother was always warm and hospitable. I was also delighted to see the enthusiastic response we received from a new generation of young poets," she adds.

The three founders of the Poetry Circle

The team has brought together older members like Contractor, Shivdasani, and Jerry Pinto, along with newer names like Akhil Katyal and Dion D'Souza, who Shivdasani believes will take the ethos of the Circle forward. Tomorrow, the team will host the first book launch event featuring poet Debasish Lahiri's new collection of poems, A Certain Penance of Light (Red River) at the Mumbai Press Club in Fort. The poet will be in conversation with Urna Bose. "I hope the book receives the attention it deserves; I'm sure Bose will do justice during her conversation with him," Shivdasani says. The session will open a dialogue about ekphrastic writing, a form Lahiri uses in his book to address a visual object through poetry. It bridges the gap between the image and the word. One may recall John Keats's poem about the figures frozen in time on a Grecian urn.

Poet Anand Thakore and Nitin Mukadam's wife and son, along with older and newer members, showcase the Poetry Circle banner

Shivdasani elaborates that the workshop format will remain the backbone of the group for poets to develop their unpublished work. In addition to it, the Circle will host other events, including book launches like Lahiri's, Deep Focus sessions to dive into a singular poet's work, and other such activities. The team has a more structured process now. Poets submit their work for the workshop in advance, which is then compiled into a pdf for everyone to access and deliberate upon.

The Poetry Circle Library

She credits Katyal and D'Souza for this. "We also have a fast-growing Poetry Circle Library, something Jerry had started during the earlier version of the Circle at Nissim Ezekiel's PEN office," she reveals, adding, "I believe that in our social media age, there is a real need to connect face-to-face. The fact that we have had 18-20 people turning up for the two workshop sessions we have held so far strengthens this belief."

On November 20, 6 pm to 8 pm
At Mumbai Press Club, Glass House, Mahapalika Marg, Azad Maidan, near CSMT