Our Correspondent
KOHIMA, APRIL 27
Kohima is all set to host a four-day mega book fair called ‘The Bookworm Fest’ from April 29 at local ground. An initiative of Barkweaver Publications and de Oriental Grand, the event will be bringing together noted Naga writers, local publishers, booksellers and avid readers as a team to promote literature.
Besides presenting a wide array of books on different subjects from Nagaland, India and abroad on retail, the fair will also include interaction, photo session & book signing with local authors, poetry reading, story-telling and activities for children like memory verse (Psalm 91) and drawing competitions, face painting etc. accompanied by food courts and home-made goodies as well. All in all, the book fair looks to become a bonanza event of books, food and bonhomie.
“It is a book fair but it’s going to be a fair of sorts, as we want people to come together and have a good time,” says Easterine Kire, poet, author and a partner at Barkweaver Publications.
For many, the event will come as a welcome occasion, more so after the disappointment they had had when the annual Hornbill Literature Fest, arguably the only big literature event in the state that featured at the earlier editions of the annual Hornbill Festival, was somehow relegated to a single book release combined with a WWII rally last year.
Talking to Eastern Mirror about The Bookworm Fest, Kire says it all germinated from a small idea when she heard that bookstalls in the town are not selling many books in the recent years. “We were discussing about it and the idea struck that, if people are not coming to the bookstalls, why not take the books to them?” she recalled.
She observes that Nagas are fortunate to have English as a medium of instruction as this advantage has enabled them to participate in national and international stages. “It has helped us to bring our written literature to where it is now,” she asserts.Maintaining that the four-day book fair is also an effort to promote young Naga writers and the Naga literature, Kire says it is one of her dreams to reach out to readers with books- not just her books, but those written by Naga writers.
“Young Nagas should feel proud… People from outside compliment us saying that Nagas write so well. It is important to boost young writers by supporting and encouraging them,” she stated.
She talked about a prevailing inferiority complex among a wealth of potentials here, and feels strongly that this is a seed sown by colonization in the past. “We need to overcome this and find value in what we have,” she added.
On the broad notion that poetry is slowly dying down, Kire exclaims that this is a misconception. Admitting that though poetry may have become a minority activity, she asserts there are so many dimensions to poetry. She opines that people must not think in watertight boundaries, and reminded that poetry is deeply etched in Naga traditional life such as their “poem songs and poem stories”.
The Barkweaver publishing house, where she is a partner, not only publishes Naga stories for readers but also strives to make available Naga literature to a global audience. Barkweaver Publications has so far brought out 14 books on Naga themes since it took off in 2009. Kire’s own work is unique in terms of Naga tales, and she manages to literally weave folk and contemporary stories which make her readers feel they can relate to.
The Bookworm Fest will feature local writers Dr.AvinuoKire, Agnes Tepa, Vishü Rita Krocha and many more, while big retailers including Crossword Kohima, India’s leading chain of bookstores, Peak Agency, the oldest bookstall in Kohima, and Education Connection will also be participating in the event among others. The organisers informed that the timing of the fair will be 11.30 am to 5.30 pm.
