While at the Indo-Danish Kurindan International Writing Residency 2024, curated and directed by Claus Ankersen, two participants: Lærke Helene Askholm and Rochelle Potkar informally chat about their literary journeys.

Bio notes -

Lærke Helene Askholm is a Danish writer and singer. She writes fiction, non-fiction, lyrics, and creative texts for music and films. She holds a B.A. in International Corporate Communications as well as a M.A. in Social Work. In 2023 she published ‘Ude ved postkassen’, (Outside by the Mailbox), an illustrated collection of fiction texts on growing up speaking to young and adult readers alike. Her second book of fiction, ‘Andalucia in My Eyes’ (Andalucia i mit blik) is currently under publication.

Rochelle Potkar is a poet, author, and screenwriter based in Mumbai. Her books include: Four Degrees of Separation, Paper Asylum, Bombay Hangovers, and Coins in Rivers.

As Saritha told the audience at the @madrasbookclub, she had 2 confessions to make.

One that she knew me (aka) @rochellepotkar for 20 years. So the evening was a conversation between friends as it was a discussion about my book of poetry, Coins in Rivers.

Two, she didn't normally read poetry. She felt Poetry was subjective both to the poet as well as the reader, and Indian schools have done a disservice by teaching poetry as a subject for scoring marks instead of teaching us how to appreciate it and relate to it based on our own life experiences.

So what a wonderful time was had between poet and non-reader of poetry talking about words and imagery and verses and lines. When Rochelle read/performed her poem, Harry Mendonsa, it was a revelation about how poetry can be read. 'Pav' was a Haibun that showed Saritha and the audience layers of thought in a limited word count. 'Toys of Chitrakoot' was a telling commentary on capitalism.

Saritha concluded:'I may, after all, have learned there's more to poetry than just the rhyming and structure that I remember from my school days.'

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It was lovely to meet Sivakami Velliangiri and Chandramohan Naidu and everyone else. Maya Sharma Sriram was sorely missed.

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The next day saw book-signing events at Higginbotham and Odyssey bookstores. You will find an author-signed copy of Coins in Rivers if you drop by these bookstores.

What a pleasure it was to be in conversation with poet Poornima Laxmeshwar over Coins in Rivers (@hachette_india) at Atta Galatta, Bengaluru, on 14 September 2024, amid a rapt audience.

Thank you Poornima for your Ph. D-like questions on the poems.

Also, thanking the very receptive audience and the bookstore team - Prerna Prakash and Siddharth for coordinating this effectively.