Panel discussion with Oliver de la Paz, Kirun Kapur, Julia Lisella, Anna Ross, at the Nosrat Yossini Poetry Festival
A free multimedia event, “In the Moment,” will take place on Saturday, April 11 at 7:00 pm in Buckley Recital Hall at Amherst College (Arms Building, 53 College Street). The performance will showcase new and collaborative work by Amherst faculty, with performance both by faculty and visiting artists. This program is open to the public.
Genres represented and combined will include instrumental, vocal, and digital music, poetry, film, dance, and a meeting point of theater with scholarly investigation. Creators will include Dwight Carey, Omeed Goodarzi, Judd Greenstein, Kirun Kapur, Dan Langa, Adam Levine, Jenna Riegel, Jason Robinson, Eric Sawyer, JaMario Stills, and LJ White. The performances will encompass a range of approaches to improvisation and dialogue between artists, as well as works that while fully composed are spontaneous in feel.
Join sophisti-pop trio StarWound along with George Abraham, Siani Ammons, Kate Bestall, Aidan Cooper, Lucinda Holland, Rina Huang, Kirun Kapur, Lydia Silver, and Dennis James Sweeney
In 2025, Matwaala celebrates a milestone—its tenth anniversary—marking a decade of amplifying South Asian diaspora voices and building community through poetry. To honor this journey, we are proud to launch the first-ever South Asian Poetry Film Fest, a curated exhibit of poetry films, on October 4, 2025, at the South Asia Institute in Chicago.
Participating poets include Usha Akella, Yahya Ashour, Ignatius V. Aloysius, Lopa Banerjee, Ibtisam Barakat, Ravi Chandra, Meena Chopra, Keisha-Gaye Anderson, Shadab Zeest Hashmi, Kavita Jindal, Kirun Kapur, Meenakshi Mohan, Faisal Mohyuddin, Anita Nahal, Sophia Naz, Yogesh Patel, Sangeeta Sharma, Sunil Sharma, Yuyutsu Sharma, Kashiana Singh, Pramila Venkateswaran.
Amherst Books hosts a reading with Kristin Dykstra, Kirun Kapur, and Mary Gilliland.
Presented in partnership with the Amherst Business Improvement District, Writers Reading is a curated series featuring local authors. In our next installment of the reading series, join us for a line-up curated by featured writer Michael Mercurio. Fellow authors JJ Starr-McClain, Kirun Kapur, and Patrick Donnelly will join Mercurio in sharing selections from their work.
Judges’ Reading with Kirun Kapur, Dora Malech, and Kiki Petrosino.
An intercollegiate event since 1924, the Glascock Intercollegiate Poetry Competition is the oldest continuously-running poetry contest for undergraduate students in the country. Students are judged by a panel of three distinguished poets. This year, our six poet-contestants will represent Hollins University, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, Spelman College, Vassar College, and Wellesley College
Join us for a Perugia Press book launch reading at CLICK Workspace in Northampton, MA on Friday, October 18 at 7pm! The event is celebrating the 2024 Perugia Press Prize winner – Joan Kwon Glass’s DAUGHTER OF THREE GONE KINGDOMS – with readings by Glass and special guests Kirun Kapur and Yasotha Sriharan.
Join us in Emily Dickinson’s garden or virtually for a celebration of creativity and poetry! Our headlining poets, 2023 Pulitzer Prize winner Carl Phillips and Sebastian Merrill, read from their work and discuss their poetic practice and inspiration with moderator Kirun Kapur.
We’re delighted to offer a reading from a beautiful new anthology, hosted by the editor: Tess Taylor, reading along with poets: David Baker, Sophie Cabot Black, Mark Doty, Kirun Kapur, and Danusha Laméris.
Presented by The Detroit Writers’ Guild and Poets & Writers, Inc, this reading and discussion brings together Indran Amirthanayagam, Zilka Joseph, Sumita Chakraborty and Kirun Kapur.
Hear beautiful poems in English and Arabic, celebrate contemporary women's stories from across the Arabic speaking world, learn about cross-cultural collaboration, and explore how poetry-in-translation brings writers together across the boundaries of nations in this lively, dynamic, group reading. Members of the Her Story Is collective will share poems from their exciting anthology project and will share key lessons from the translation process which transformed and improved their own creative work. Q&A to follow.
With Dima AlBasha, Jennifer Jean & Kirun Kapur.
More event details here.
Hosted by the Prince George’s County Memorial Library System and the Prince George’s County Human Relations Commission.
Kirun Kapur discusses her new collection of poetry, "Women in the Waiting Room," with Kyla Hanington of the Prince George's County Human Relations Commission. "Women in the Waiting Room" explores the twin forces of silence and speech. It sketches a room full of women—friends and strangers, humans and goddesses—retuning from the far edges of experience to find a voice.
Event details can be found here.
From epic tales of migration to intimate childhood cameos, family history can provide rich and challenging material for poets. How does time, perspective, character, form and questions of truth/authority effect a writer’s efforts to turn private family experiences into poetry that is meaningful beyond the familial circle?
In this generative workshop we’ll explore the unique pleasures and perils of bringing family memories and members to life in verse. We will begin by investigating how a variety of well-known poets have approached family-inspired writing and then dive into a series of writing exercises designed to take our own family history in surprising, thoughtful new directions.
Registration information can be found here.
Join poet Kirun Kapur for an epistolary poem workshop drawing on the Herwitz collection of illustrated letters on view in “My Dear Davey and Chester …” Write your own poems as letters, considering the form as a vehicle for private meditation, public protest, humorous complaint, scholarly rumination and declarations of love. We’ll then consider some questions: Who are we writing to when we write a poem? What magic can pronouns perform on the page? How can writing a “letter” help us strengthen and define our voice?
This program is sold out. You are welcome to join the waitlist here.
Reading @ Curry College as part of their Celebration of Writing Week.
Details forthcoming.
Black Lawrence Press presents a reading with three Boston-area poets: Denise Bergman, Lindsay Illich & Kirun Kapur.
Register to attend here.
Belmont Books hosts a virtual night of poetry with authors Kirun Kapur, Rachel DeWoskin, and Rosanna Warren as they read from their latest books.
Zoom Link & Registration info can be found here @ Belmont Books.
Nick Makoha and Kirun Kapur are both poets who explore boundaries of culture and identity. Join them in conversation with the Goldsmiths Writers’ Center (University of London)
Event is free and open to the public. Registration information can be found here @ Eventbrite.
Registration is free and open to the public. Registration info can be found here @ Eventbrite.
Her Story Is will present a panel discussion at which poets, playwrights, and scholars share their experiences working cross-culturally through translators on creative and academic projects. In addition, scholars on the panel will use feminist methodologies to explore questions regarding the challenge of translating across culture, conflict, and geography and the value of building connections and collaboratively developing literature among women from former enemy nations. This event, funded in part by Mass Humanities, will be free and open to the public.
Organizer: Jennifer Jean
Moderator: Ana Candida Carneiro
Panelists: Amy Merrill, Kirun Kapur, Amani El Jack, and Ellen Kaplan.
Zoom Registration now live: Click Here to Register.
The South Asian diaspora is perpetually evolving, breaking new boundaries and forging new connections in every sphere. India Currents presents its second Desi Poetry Reading to discuss how South Asian immigrant communities have changed over the years, as well as attitudes surrounding diversity, multiculturalism and belonging.
This poetry reading will feature notable writers from various pockets of the South Asian community, including Geetha Sukumaran, Ravi Shankar, Ralph Nazareth, Kirun Kapur, and youth poet Kanchan Naik.
What does it mean to be a poet of the South Asian diaspora, to represent and be part of more than one culture?
Join Kirun Kapur, Raena Shirali and Subhashini Kaligotla in conversation with Shikha Malaviya.
Watch the recording of the event here.
Creating Poetry from Family History
From epic tales of migration to intimate childhood cameos, family history can provide rich and challenging material for poets. How do time, perspective, character, form, and questions of truth and authority affect a writer’s efforts to turn private family experiences into poetry that is meaningful beyond the familial circle?
This workshop explores the unique pleasures and perils of bringing family memories and members to life in verse. Participants will investigate how a variety of poets, such as Natasha Tretheway, Martha Collins, Li-Young Lee, Beth Bachman, Suji Kwock Kim, and Louise Glück, have approached family-inspired writing, engage in a series of writing exercises, and provide supportive feedback on each other’s work. Attendees are welcome to bring works-in-progress or concentrate on generating new material.
For more information, click here.
Presented by Babel in conjunction with the Center for Humanistic Inquiry @ Amherst College, this seminar series seeks to “explore both risks to, and opportunities for our concepts of “home” and establishing social connections” in the times of COVID-19.
Kirun Kapur appears on a panel with Gustavo Salcedo – Political Science & International Relations (Amherst College) & Renata Moretti – Biology & Environmental Sciences (Harvard University).
For full event details, click here.
One of New York’s premier celebrations of Indian-American literature, the festival brings you two days of book talks with award winning authors, book signings, cultural activities and more. The stellar lineup of authors and poets will explore cultural identity, immigrant stories and challenging cultural norms.
Sponsored by the Indo American Arts Council.
Join us for a fun take on a poetry reading—a topic is picked, and then each poet reads 1 poem, riffing off the one before—who knows where the words will lead us! Is it a competition or a joint composition—come and decide for yourself!
The 2019 Salem Arts Festival, running from Friday, June 7th through Sunday, June 9th, will celebrate the arts in all its forms: painting, photography, sculpture, installation, dance, music, writing, film, new media, performance, theater, poetry, culinary, visual art and more. The 2019 festival will consist of a gallery of juried artists’ work in Old Town Hall, performance in an outdoor stage venue, indoor performances, a street fair, and opportunities for the community to actively participate in the arts. Individuals are welcome to contribute at multiple venues and events.
For more information, click here.
Join us as we celebrate South Asian authors and enjoy music, snacks, and celebrate Holi, a Hindu spring celebration!
Anjali Mitter Duva, author of Faint Promise of Rain, Rishi Reddi, author of Karma and Other Stories, Chaya Bhuvaneswar, author of White Dancing Elephants, and poet Kirun Kapur will be reading, discussing the writing process, and answering questions.
This workshop will focus on revision as an act of creation. It is designed for poets who want to transform dead drafts into fresh poems that leap, move, buzz, and take risks.
Using contemporary poetic models and a series of in-class exercises, participants will collaborate with each other, generate fresh ideas, experiment with structure, take apart and re-imagine their old work. The workshop is open to poets at all levels with a willingness to take their work in unexpected directions.
Information can be found here.
