Bhubaneswar : Poetry is no more mesmerizing readers. It has lost its sway over readers ever since it entered the academic curricula.
This has been said by Prof. Jatin Nayak. He was addreesing the inaugural session of the two-day Bhubaneswar Literary Fest organised by Odisha Sahitya Samaj Trust. The Literary Fest came to an end on Sunday.
Prof Nayak said poetry remained vibrant when people used to memorise, recite and sing. With poetry becoming part of the academic studies, the attraction of poetry shrinked and it confined to examination performance, he explained.
The opening session was graced by eminent poet Rajendra Kishore Panda and author Rabi Narayan Senapati. The session was chaired by Trust president poet Surya Mishra. Acting president Rakhyak Nayak and Trust director Ashok Singh were present.
The closing ceremony was graced by eminent author and translator from Germany Utte Ausinger, linguistic expert Debi Prasanna Patnaik and Dharitri editor Tathagata Satpathy. Ausinger said more efforts should be made to spread Odia literature at global level.
The Bhubaneswar Lit Fest delved on topics like Dalit and transgender literature, challenges for Odia publishers. A poetry recitation session and screening of Odia classical cinema Matir Manish also became part of the event.
