LONG ISLAND/NYC, NY, USA
2019: Long Island/NYC, NY, USACity: New York City/Long Island.
Poet of Honor: Yogesh Patel. Special guest: Salman Rushdie. Participating organizations/universities: Hunter college, NYU, Nassau Community College, Murray Edwards College, Cambridge University, Private reading at church, Cambridge & The Red Room. Funded by: Nassau Foundation, NYU Global Studies and Poets and Writers. Featured poets: Yogesh Patel, Kavita Jindal, Pramila Venkateswaran, Ravi Shankar, Zilka Joseph, Vivek Sharma, Ralph Nazareth, Vikas Menon, Sophia Naz, Yuyutsu Sharma, Usha Akella, Indran Amirthanayagam. Cultural Segment: None. Directors Pramila and Usha see the fruition of their vision- website & branding, collaborating with three NYC colleges (NCC, Hunter and NYU), sponsorship by Poets & Writers, and launching the e-anthology in 2019. The work was achieved in five months since the close of Matwaala 2018. The fabulous website and branding was designed by young designer Francisca Li who put scores of hours into the project. Anannya Akella offered brilliant poster designs. The projects were made possible in true Matwaala community spirit with donations by poets. 2019 Participating poets are UK poets: Yogesh Patel (poet-of-honor) and Kavita A. Jindal. US Poets: Pramila Venkateswaran, Ravi Shankar, Zilka Joseph, Vivek Sharma, Ralph Nazareth, Vikas Menon, Sophia Naz, Yuyutsu Sharma, Usha Akella and Indran Amirthanayagam. About 2019 Matwaala Festival:
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SeaWorld
(From Swimming with Whales, Skylark Publications UK) Born and bred in homelessness A home that is a pond, a migrant’s world I have to perform: every move watched Corrected by a man on the nose! I am a damned foreigner If released in the wild It means a fresh alienation Returning home as someone else The formation dance here: slavery The formation in the wild: Means to hunt as a pack Creating waves as a family To topple the seal from its Shaky small ice island Is only a spiritual world The hunt is a social bond The hunt is a cultural home The hunt is a language Pleasing the spectators Delighting the masters To earn the scraps for a living Is not the avant-garde art This pond is a beggar’s delight In this mini – virtual - sea Are torn alien cultures, trapped Freedom is a chasm, your version A sea is a scary place If your home is the SeaWorld I am a migrant afraid of home Homelessness is my sanctuary! |
A Big Welcome
There is nothing new In feeling alienated In your own cold home Welcome to the Thames Its heart isn’t big enough It’s your new cold home One day we will meet We will compare notes Interview with YogeshMore about Yogesh: |