The 9th three-day Karachi Literature Festival has been commenced in Karachi from today.The event is being organized by Oxford University Press.
Vibrant programme of talks, interviews, panel discussions, readings, book launches, English poetry readings, Urdu mushaira, Sindhi mushaira, stand-up comedy, author signings, performing arts, film screenings, open mic, book fair, and literary awards ceremony will be part of the event.Around two hundred Pakistani and thirty international authors and speakers from ten countries are expected to participate in the festival. Known story and play writer Noorul Huda Shah will be the keynote speaker at the inauguration.
1) Kamila Shamsie's conversation about her latest novel Home Fire
Kamila Shamsie is scheduled to speak about her latest novel Home Fire at 11am on Saturday morning. Home Fire was longlisted for the prestigious Man Booker Prize and has garnered international acclaim. Centered around a British-Pakistani family torn apart by a conflicted past, this novel features themes that are very relevant today.
We expect to hear commentary about Pakistani writing in English, the Paksitani diaspora in Britain and much more.
2) A panel discussion on the #MeToo movement
A timely conversation if there ever was one, this panel features prominent personalities like transgender activist Kami Choudhry and journalist/politician/academic Nafisa Shah. We're looking forward to insights about how the #MeToo movement is or isn't relevant to Pakistan, how we can better understand the movements aims and limitation, and much more.
3) Sunil Shankar's short play 'Chup' will be featured too
Directed by Sunil Shankar and co-written by him and Fawad Khan, this short play deals with issues that can't openly be discussed -- like missing persons, enforced disappearances and more.
It will be staged on Saturday at 4.45pm.
4) A session on the relationship between fiction and politics
On Sunday morning Kishwar Naheed, Arfa Syeda Zehra, Qaisra Shahraz and more will gather to discuss the impact of fiction on politics and vice versa. We're looking forward to a conversation that'll hopefully address the depoliticization of literature in Pakistan, the divide between English and Urdu reading audiences, and more.
5) A welcome focus on Sindhi literature
Friday will feature a Sindhi Mushairo with Imdad Hussaini, Aasi Zamini, Ayaz Gul, Haleem Baghi, Sahar Imdad and more.
This will be followed on Sunday by a talk titled 'The literary traditions of Sindh, featuring Jami Chandio ad Syed Sardar Shah.
6) A focus on poetry spanning the new and the old
From a session that features Zia Mohyeddin reading Shakespeare to a session that investigates slam poetry, KLF attempts to cover vast ground in the world of verse.
Another session titled 'The other muse: poetry in English' will grapple with the state of English poetry in Pakistan.
