Jaipur, Mar 12 (PTI) Critically acclaimed poet Ranjit Hoskote received the prestigious Mahakavi Kanhaiyalal Sethia Poetry Award at the ongoing Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) on Saturday.
The annual award, now in its seventh edition, was constituted in the memory of Rajasthani and Hindi poet Kanhaiyalal Sethia. It honours one literary icon with a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh and a memento of appreciation along with a felicitation.
Hoskote, who has authored seven collections of poetry, including “Vanishing Acts: New & Selected Poems” (2006), Central Time (2014), Jonahwhale (2018) and Hunchprose (2021), has also won the Sahitya Akademi Golden Jubilee Award, the Sahitya Akademi Translation Award, and the SH Raza Literature Award.
“I have great respect for this award because it is named after a figure who contributed to three languages — Hindi, Rajasthani and Urdu. As a believer in the vital importance of multilingual experience for literary creativity, I feel particularly blessed,” said Hoskote, who also curated India’s first-ever national pavilion at the Venice Biennale (2011).
The winner was selected by a jury comprising respected literary personalities, including award-winning writer and JLF co-director Namita Gokhale, JLF producer Sanjoy K Roy, poet-journalist Nirupama Dutt, and Siddharth Sethia of the KL Sethia Foundation.
The 15th edition of the JLF, which kicked off on ground at Hotel Clarks Amer on Thursday, is being held in hybrid format for the first time since its inception in 2006. It was held virtually from March 5 to 9.
Turkish bestselling novelist Elif Shafak, 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction finalist Jonathan Franzen, 2021 Booker winner Damon Galgut, Australian author and 2003 Booker winner DBC Pierre, Hollywood actor-writer Rupert Everett, and eminent Jamaican poet Kei Miller are among the 250 authors participating in the JLF this year. PTI MG SMN
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