Khaki: Poems on Pulwama
Poetry Reading & Discussion
2.0 hrs
April 25, 2019 7:30 pm Thursday
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Khaki: Poems on Pulwama by Dr Fatima Shahnaz

Fatima Shahnaz's collection, "KHAKI - Poems on Pulwama" is an outpouring of the shock, outrage and emotional distress felt across India after the terrorist suicide attack on unarmed Indian forces at Pulwama, Kashmir, in which forty-four Indian soldiers were killed. These poems were written and completed within barely two weeks, from February 14, 2019 to March 3, 2019, following the assault, purportedly by a terrorist in Pakistan's proxy war on India. The range of these poems embodies the poet's academic career as an author and an advocate of international human rights who has been vocal for racial and social justice and as an anti-war activist promoting global peace in the New York area, where she lived after growing up in Europe. She has also proactively condemned violence against women in speeches and activism in India since her return to her homeland.

The poems in KHAKI are unabashedly patriotic, reflecting Fatima's yearning for her homeland throughout her life. While the poetry additionally reflects her humanitarian mission as she continues to uphold her ideals of global justice and peace, she is also aware of the compelling urgency for the preservation of the Indian democracy, the largest in the world, and the pluralism and secular ideals at its core

About the Writer

Dr. Fatima Shahnaz’s first novel, GOLCONDA, was published in New York by News-India (Times); Khaki, Poems on Pulwama follows several collections of her poetry include Sarasavati, Shards and others; an introduction and poem by her were selected for an anthology, “In the Arms of Words,” published by Sherman Asher Publishers in the United States, and the proceeds from this supported relief for victims of the Asian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina. She was appointed the first Indian, and Asian, Head Girl in the British girl’s boarding school she attended in Europe; after

achieving General School Certificates, Ordinary and Advanced levels (Oxford- Cambridge Boards), she obtained her B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. in French Literature at the

Sorbonne University in Paris, France. She was awarded a citation by the Government of France in 2010 as “Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres” (‘Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters’). Before her teens she won the Jawaharlal Nehru Gold Medal for writing, and several first prizes from the Shankar’s institution in India. She has written extensively as a journalist and academic on global politics has been a featured poet on the New York and Indian poetry circuits and has given numerous speeches as a writer, professor, and advocate of international human rights.

ENTRY FREE & OPEN TO ALL

Organizer
Lamakaan & Prof Fatima Shahnaz
Lamakaan is an open cultural space of Hyderabad that organizes events on various political, social, economic, and cultural issues. For more info about Lamakaan and its events, visit us at www.lamakaan.com Dr. Fatima Shahnaz’s first novel, GOLCONDA, was published in New York by News-India (Times); Khaki, Poems on Pulwama follows several collections of her poetry include Sarasavati, Shards and others; an introduction and poem by her were selected for an anthology, “In the Arms of Words,” published by Sherman Asher Publishers in the United States, and the proceeds from this supported relief for victims of the Asian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina. She was appointed the first Indian, and Asian, Head Girl in the British girl’s boarding school she attended in Europe; after achieving General School Certificates, Ordinary and Advanced levels (Oxford- Cambridge Boards), she obtained her B.A., M.A. and PhD in French Literature at the Sorbonne University in Paris, France. She was awarded a citation by the Government of France in 2010 as “Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres” (‘Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters’). Before her teens, she won the Jawaharlal Nehru Gold Medal for writing, and several first prizes from the Shankar’s institution in India. She has written extensively as a journalist and academic on global politics has been a featured poet on the New York and Indian poetry circuits and has given numerous speeches as a writer, professor, and advocate of international human rights.