Poetry is such a powerful way to express, says poet Ayesha Chatterjee

CHENNAI: Prakriti Foundation is organising a poetry reading session by Ayesha Chatterjee, author of The Clarity of Distance and Bottles and Bones, on February 23 at Amdavadi Gujarati Snack House, T Nagar. The poet, born and raised in India and currently living in Toronto, has her poems published in well-known publications in the UK, Ireland, and Canada.

Speaking to DT Next about the event, Ranvir Shah, founder of Prakriti Foundation, says, “Ayesha has been a friend of Prakriti for years now. We have previously collaborated with her and this poetry reading will mark our third collaboration. She will be travelling down south soon and so we decided to call her for another session.”

Ranvir says the poet has been a bridge in connecting both young and senior poets and showcasing their work on different platforms. “She actively works with the community in shaping young poets and motivates them to write more,” he adds.

Talking about her first collaboration, Ayesha reminisces, “I was called in 2010 for the first time for a poetry reading even before I published my book. That day is fresh in my mind like it happened only yesterday. I’ll forever be grateful for that opportunity. Now, 13 years since my first reading, I’ve met different people, artistes, poets, and musicians and I’ve grown in my craft. This reading will be special.”

As a part of the session, she will be reading poems from her books The Clarity of Distance and Bottles and Bones, along with other published works in magazines. She will also be presenting some of her recent pieces that are yet to publish. Revealing the themes of the poems, she says the poems will discuss the state of the world, the environment and how as humans we interact with nature.

Poems on identity will also be presented at the event. “My works have been turned into songs by several artists in Canada and Jazz album will be coming out next year,” says Ayesha.

Talking about how youngsters are using poetry as a tool, she says, “I’m happy to see the younger generation use poetry as a medium to voice their concerns. Poetry is such a powerful way to express and be a part of a movement. I hope more people take to the habit of writing poetry.”

The event is taking place at Amdavadi Gujarati Snack House from 6 pm onwards. For more details, call 9940620268.