Harkaitz Cano visited Kerala Literature Festival in India

The Kerala Literature Festival (KLF) is held every year in Kozhikode, a city in the state of Kerala, India. Basque writer Harkaitz Cano was at the festival and took part in several cultural events, including a poetry translation workshop alongside authors from other countries. This is not Cano’s time in India – last year he traveled there to attend the Hyderabad Literature Festival.

The Kerala Literature Festival (KLF) is held every year in Kozhikode, a city in the state of Kerala, India. Basque writer Harkaitz Cano was at the festival and took part in several cultural events, including a poetry translation workshop alongside authors from other countries. This is not Cano’s time in India – last year he traveled there to attend the Hyderabad Literature Festival.

The 2019 edition was held from January 10^th to 13^th. Each year, the festival choses a guest nation, and this year it was Wales. Cano participated in a poetry translation workshop, along with Welsh poets and Malayalam writers from southwestern India, as part of a series of poetry translation encounters called Poetry Connections Europe-India. Each author translated their poems into their own language, using English as the common thread. Afterwards, the writers presented their work in a public event held on January 11^th.

Cano also participated in an event related to Welsh culture: a roundtable on screenwriting titled From page to stage to screen, in which he talked with Welsh scriptwriter Caryl Lewis and dramatist Tara Robinson. Lastly, the author attended a collective poetry reading on January 14^th at Kitab Khana, a bookshop in Mumbai.

KLF is the second largest book festival in India, drawing hundreds of artists every year, from writers to musicians, to essayists and activists. “It is a very popular festival attended by people of all ages,” said Cano. In addition to talks and book presentations, the evening concerts ensure no shortage of a festive atmosphere.