Vital Voices in Verse : How the Feminist Poetry Festival is breaking new ground

All oppression creates a state of war. And this is no exception - Like Simone De Behaviour, the French writer and “Mother of Modern Feminism”, we aren’t surprised that the genesis of feminist poetry takes seed in oppressive systems of gender and caste hierarchy, that for centuries women writers have stood against. Misogyny might have manifested its face in the modern world of today but the adversities and aftermath stay as worse. 

Women writers, poets and activists, however, have courageously held their fort all this while through the power of pen-paper, songs and fearless performances. And of late, with hashtags like #smashpatriarchy #metoo #orangetheworld #everydaysexism #yesallwomen #nomore, they have been revolutionising the digital space too. 

Whether it was Andal (seventh or eighth century CE), Akka Mahadevi (twelfth century CE), Meerabai (sixteenth century CE), Zeb-un-Nissa (Mughal era), Saviti Bai Phule (nineteenth century) or the current tribe of women poets, all have broken stereotypes through moments of intersectionality, and led the narrative movement of fighting oppressive patriarchy through their art.  

Each time, their voices were suppressed, made mockery of or run over. In an urban space, the tolerance (if not encouragement) has increased albeit the instances of trolling or online threatening do not seem to die down. 

It was in this ballgame, sometime in the summer of 2020, when She The People team thought of bringing together the current day strong feminist poets together on a platform, wanting to build a community of feminist writers, artists and leaders, united in their goal to end gender inequality through the power of storytelling and poetry. 

Recommended Reading: Five Poems by Priya Malik for the feminist in you 

Over several cups of coffee and COVID induced Zoom calls, Asia’s First Feminist Poetry Festival,  finally, got conceived. A thing like this was going to the first of its kind, not just in India, but in Asia. The very idea had set our hearts at She The People, beat to the rhythm of joy and revolution. 

However, the task was as daunting as thrilling! To get prominent poets from diverse disciplines, locations, age groups and ideologies from across the continent was not going to be an easy piece of cake. 

After hard work of about two months, in August 2020, the debut edition of the Feminist Poetry Festival saw its sun. It was a moment of sheer cheer and celebration. It went all over internet creating waves for it brought vital voices in intersectionality -  Regional, Intersectional, Dalit, Adivasi and Protest poets -  united together on digital platform for the first time. Nirmala Putul joined the panel from her remote village in Jharkhand, Aruna Gogulamanda from Hyderabad while Jacinta Kerketta from an anonymous location in Europe. Their stories of struggle and caste hierarchical oppression melted the audience, inspiring everyone to take the conversations, debate and discussions even further. 

The three-day festival was power packed with several panels that included poets from mainstream feminist English, Hindi and Urdu literature who discussed and showcased their stupendous work. Fascinating topics like - When Landscape Becomes A Woman, Hum Gunehgar Auratein, Period poetry, Intersectional India In Verse, Jurrat-e-Izhar, Hum Dekhenge - spoke volumes about the feminist movement in new India.

From young school-going, aspiring poets to legends like Sahitya Academy winner of 2020, Anamika, became a part of this huge empowerment festival. Popular poets like Priya Malik, RJ Sayema, Megha Rao, Sriti Jha and so many more let their hearts open through poetry.

We laughed and cried together, and felt each other’s emotions through the power of poetry, as if we were all made up of the same fabric, standing in solidarity against similar challenges. 

The Feminist Poetry Festival is not an event but a work in motion. We aim to expand the table, and not take it higher. 

And hence, after a gap of an year and a half, we are returning with the second edition. So many conversations which were left unsaid, unquenched, incomplete will now be carried forward through newer faces and voices. Whether it is about challenging the assumptions of patriarchy by embodying women experiences or it is the intersectionality of identities related to race, sexuality, gender presentation or disability, the February edition of Festival is all set to build more dialogues, and go global.

We are excited and ready. And you?