Description

An initiative of Red River and Indian Novels Collective

Hummingbirds are distinguished by their dazzling colours, diminutive size, and speedy flight, the only birds that can fly backwards, upside down, sideways, and hover in mid-air. Sighting a hummingbird also signals that challenging times are over and healing can begin. These little birds are also a sign of hope and spiritual significance. They are also critically endangered species, facing the prospect of extinction due to climate change.

Since publishing poetry is considered perhaps the most adventurous or perilous creative journey, curating a poetry series in the name of hummingbirds literally and metaphorically affirms our faith in the commitment and belief in the power of small to achieve the impossible.

Inspired by Wangari Maathai, the Kenyan activist and the first woman Nobel Peace Prize winner from Africa, who pioneered Green Belt Movement, and a great believer in the power of hummingbirds, we believe that our Hummingbirds Chapbook Series, a joint initiative of Red River and Indian Novels Collective, will energise poets and poetry lovers to come together and help create a republic of imagination.

Note from the author: “I have often asked editors of Indian English poetry anthologies why they include my poems, as I do not write originally in English. Their invariable reply has been that, since I translate my own work, I am part of the oeuvre of Indian poetry in English — a fact hard to deny.”

K Satchidanandan (b 1946) is a renowned bilingual poet, critic, playwright, translator, and editor writing primarily in Malayalam and English, and a pioneer of modernism in Indian literature. He has published over thirty collections of poetry in Malayalam, along with works in English, Hindi, and several international and Indian languages. His many honours include the Sahitya Akademi Award, the Dante Medal (Italy), the Poet Laureate Award from the Tata Literature Festival, and five Kerala Sahitya Akademi Awards across genres. One of India’s most celebrated public intellectuals, Satchidanandan has lectured and read poetry at literary events in more than thirty countries across six continents. He has also translated approximately 2,000 pages of poetry from around the world, compiled in six books. His recent works include a complete translation of Shakespeare’s Sonnets into Malayalam and five books of Indian Bhakti and Sufi poetry, featuring poets such as Kabir, Surdas, Bulle Shah, Tukaram, Basava, Akka Mahadevi, Namdev, Jnandev, Chokhamela, and others. He has served as Professor of English in Kerala, Editor and Secretary of Sahitya Akademi, and Professor of Translation Studies at IGNOU. He now lives in Kerala with his wife and their two daughters.