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In 'Kannadi Thundugalum Malligai Pookalum' ('Glass Pieces and Jasmine Flowers'), poet Vatsala plainly foregrounds the complexity of themes in her work: "Forgive me...," she writes, "My poems/like pieces of glass soaked in blood and pus/tire you./Exhausted after a day's work,/reclining in an easy chair/what you need/are beautiful poems/that caress your heart."
Such complexity runs through the works of several contemporary poets who weave together the personal and political in their writing. Five such women writers came together to read their poems on January 17, 2007, at the Alliance Francaise auditorium in
Chennai.
The evening of poetry - titled 'The World of Tamil Women Poets' - featured Kutty Revathy, Malathy Maitri, Perundevi, Sukiertha Rani and Vatsala. The poets read a few of their poems in Tamil. This was followed by readings of the English translations of the poems. Indrani Krishnaier read the translations.
Following the poetry reading, the poets interacted with the audience and responded to their questions. Geeta Kannan facilitated the Q & A session with the audience.
The World of Tamil Women Poets was one of the special programmes of Explorations, a week of inaugural programmes to mark the Chennai launch of
National Museum of Women in the Arts (India).
R Rangaraj
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