A four-day international summit of poets, titled Dhaka International Poets Summit 2019, will begin in the city on Wednesday. The summit will bring together 15 noted contemporary poets from home and abroad.
The formal launching of the Dhaka International Poets Summit 2019, organized by Kathak Bangladesh, will be held at the National Gallery auditorium of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy on Thursday evening.
Aminur Rahman, Kathak president and Bangladeshi poet of international repute, told the Dhaka Tribune that the presence of some world renowned poets, like Dr Ali Al-Shalah (Iraq), Claire Booker (UK), Kama Sywor Kamanda (Congo), Julio Pavanetti and Annabel Villar (Uruguay), Malim Ghozali Pk (Malaysia), and Dr Tianxin Cai (China), will make the event fascinating for poetry enthusiasts.
Information Minister Hasan Mahmud will attend the inaugural session as chief guest, while former Bangla Academy director general Shamsuzzaman Khan will be in the chair.
The participating Bangladeshi poets include Asad Chowdhury, Hayat Saif, Mohammad Nurul Huda, Habibullah Siraji, Jahidul Huq, Mustafa Pasha, Maksudul Ahsan and Aminur Rahman.
The summit activities will begin on Wednesday morning, with the participating poets paying tribute at the National Martyrs’ Memorial, Savar, at 9am.
Later on, the poets will visit Jahangirnagar University to observe migrating birds, and interact with the students and teachers of the university's English Department.
At 6pm on Wednesday, there will be a poetry and painting exhibition of 15 poets from seven countries at the National Gallery of Shilpakala Academy. Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation Chairman Akhtaruz Zaman Khan Kabir will preside over the event, with IFIC Bank Managing Director MSA Sarwar attending as chief guest.
On Friday, the poets will attend the National Poetry Festival, organized by Poetry Council, on the Dhaka University campus and read poems.
The following morning, they will attend an interactive session with students and recite poems at Notre Dame University, Dhaka, and then visit the Ekushey Book Fair in the afternoon.
That same evening, a poetry magazine, “Kambi Katha”, will be launched, and a commemorative session will be held on the late poet Fazal Shahabuddin at Bishwa Sahitya Kendra. Foreign and local poets will also take part in a poetry reading session.