JLF to Begin Month-Long Digital Celebration of Literature in the US and Canada From Nov 8

by  EVENTFAQS Bureau Entertainment | November 6, 2020 | News

Jaipur Literature Festival Teamwork Arts

Teamwork Arts, producer of the Jaipur Literature Festival, will present digital versions of its literary festivals held annually in North America - JLF Colorado Online, JLF Houston Online, JLF New York Online and JLF Toronto Online.

JLF in the USA will start on November 8, 2020 with JLF Colorado Online and last till November 24, 2020, concluding with JLF New York Online. JLF Colorado Online will have sessions from November 8-11, 2020 and November 15-18, 2020. JLF Houston Online will run from November 21- 22, 2020, JLF New York Online will run from November 23-24, 2020 and JLF Toronto Online will run between November 27-29, 2020.

The online editions of the festivals will bring together diverse palate of global themes while celebrating the culture, diversity, energy and beauty of the host cities, a caravan of ideas and the flow of conversations. Teamwork Arts has partnered with Boulder Public Library for JLF Colorado Online; with the Consulate General of India, Houston, Asia Society Texas Center, and Inprint for JLF Houston Online; and with Asia Society, New York for JLF New York Online.

The month-long programming will include topics like the COVID-19 pandemic, crime-writing, environment, poetry, international politics, racial equality and discrimination, entertainment, fiction, etc. After its launch in Colorado, the festival will then travel to Houston and New York. The sessions will be live-streamed on the JLF website.

Namita Gokhale, Co-Director, Jaipur Literature Festival, said, “The challenges of our changing times have led us at JLF to create and curate an incredibly rich and diverse digital platform. Our well-established literary festivals in Houston, New York and Boulder, Colorado will be presented virtually in 2020. The US editions will, as ever, engage with both the local and the global, giving voice to writers, poets and thinkers as they celebrate books, dialogue and debate.”

Nadir Patel, High Commissioner for Canada to India, said, “I am delighted that the second edition of the JLF-Toronto is returning to Canada in its new virtual avatar. Art and artistic expressions transcend boundaries and barriers, allowing for a free flow of thoughts and ideas.  The benefits that the arts bring to the economy, to building identity, pride and a shared sense of values are indispensable. The JLF provides an exceptional platform for global authors and thought leaders to engage and strengthen our cultural and bilateral ties.”

Sanjoy K. Roy, Managing Director, Teamwork Arts, and Festival Producer, said, “Literature, ideas and knowledge are at the heart of every effort to ensure a free flow of knowledge and information, specially in these times. With JLF USA, Teamwork Arts brings to you our largest ever programme spread over four weeks with Nobel Laureates, Pulitzer, Commonwealth and other award-winning speakers to share their ideas and vision on a slew of issues from BLM to the environment, performing poetry to democracy, music to film.”

The sessions at JLF Colorado Online will have speakers including Christophe Jaffrelot, David Abulafia, David HeskaWanbliWeiden, Eric Cornell, Hussain Zaidi, Jo Nesbo, Kara Keeling, Kim Ghattas, Nathalie Etoke, Nathalie Handal, Rheea Mukherjee, Trevor Price, The Venerable Tenzin Priyadarshi, Vikram Chandra and Yann Martel.

Houston will feature speakers like Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni;  Homi K. Bhabha; Jenny Bhatt; Ira Mukhoty; Lawrence Wright and Matt Ridley. The New York sessions will have Anand Giridharadas; Luke Harding; Michael Sandel; Owen Bennett-Jones and  Vijay Seshadri.

The Toronto sessions will feature Anthony Sattin; Anosh Irani; David Wallace-Wells; DevduttPattanaik; Emma Donoghue; Harnarayan Singh; James Raffan; Richard Ovenden; Ruth Padel; Samra Zafar; Shashi Tharoor; Simon Winchester and Stephen Greenblatt.