Kolkata to host 9th edition Chair Poetry Evenings: Kolkata’s International Poetry Festival 2026

The ninth edition of Chair Poetry Evenings – Kolkata’s International Poetry Festival, one of the world’s largest international poetry festivals, is set to return to Kolkata from November 26 to 29, bringing together acclaimed poets from twelve countries and various parts of India. The four-day celebration will feature poetry readings in fifteen languages, offering audiences an opportunity to experience diverse literary traditions and contemporary poetic voices from across the world.

Over the past nine years, Chair Poetry Evenings has established itself as a significant platform for international literary exchange, having presented poets from more than 35 countries. The festival continues to strengthen Kolkata’s longstanding association with literature and the arts while fostering conversations across languages, cultures, and geographical boundaries.

This year’s distinguished line-up includes internationally acclaimed and award-winning poets Alojzija Zupan Sosič, Amrita Bhattacharyya, Anzhelina Polonskaya, Avinash Mishra, Brane Mozetič, Carey Salerno, C. P. Surendran, Gjoko Zdraveski, Himalaya Jana, Kirun Kapur, Linda Anderson, Martina Evans, Marta Eloy Cichocka, Mahesh Verma, Mélanie Leblanc, Ming Di, Moya De Feyter, Natalia Malek, Nilim Kumar, and Prabhat Milind.

The festival will begin with a curtain-raiser programme featuring a painting exhibition at the Jamini Roy Gallery, ICCR alongside poetry readings by city poets. Prajna Dutta and Rohen Bose will present a musical rendition during this program. The formal inauguration will take place at the Satyajit Ray

Auditorium, ICCR, followed by a series of poetry readings, literary interactions, and cultural programmes at The Samilton Hotel and other venues across Kolkata.

The inaugural evening will also feature a special folk and fusion music performance by Sumit Guha, Deepmoy Das, Subhajoy Barua, Rick Mukherjee, Avishek Chakraborty, and Shyamal Mitra, bringing together musical traditions and contemporary artistic expression.

Among the festival’s highlights will be the launch of two new poetry collections in translation published by Chair Poetry Books: Imago Mundi by Polish poet Marta Eloy Cichocka and The Body Remembers Everything by Macedonian poet Gjoko Zdraveski. Both books will be formally launched on November 28 at Cloud Tavern, offering readers an opportunity to discover important contemporary poetic voices through translation. Subhrajit Das will also present a mentalism show during the third day of the festival.

The festival will conclude with its much-anticipated signature event, Poetry on the Cruise, aboard a vessel on the River Hooghly. The event will bring together participating poets for readings against the backdrop of Kolkata’s historic riverfront, creating a distinctive setting for the meeting of poetry, culture, and the city’s heritage.

Organised by Chair Literary Trust, this year’s festival has received support from several national and international literary and cultural organisations, including the Poetry Book Society, UK; Dutch Foundation for Literature; Flanders Literature, Belgium; Polish Institute, New Delhi; Book Institute, Poland; Embassy of Poland; Slovenian Book Agency; Himalayan Writing Retreat; The Samilton Hotel; and Vivada Cruises Pvt. Ltd., among others.

Speaking about the significance of poetry in the contemporary world, eminent Hindi poet and festival director Tushar Dhawal Singh said:

“Across the world, we are witnessing an increasing tendency to reduce human lives to competing ideologies. Poetry challenges this narrowing of our collective imagination. It allows us to recognise the individual beyond the labels imposed by society and to encounter experiences that may be entirely different from our own. At a time when aggression often dominates public discourse, the act of listening to another human being has acquired renewed importance. Through Chair Poetry Evenings, we hope to create a space where differences become opportunities for understanding and where artistic expression reminds us of the complexity and dignity of human existence.”

Reflecting on the festival’s international character and the role of literature in an increasingly divided world, poet and festival director Sonnet Mondal said:

“Borders may determine where we live, but they cannot contain the experiences that make us human. A poem written in one corner of the world can speak intimately to someone thousands of miles away, often without either person knowing anything about the other's circumstances. This ability to establish connections across unfamiliar lives is among poetry's greatest strengths. As conflicts deepen in many parts of the world, it becomes essential to preserve spaces where independent voices can be heard without fear. Kolkata has a remarkable history of intellectual openness and artistic engagement, and through this festival, we want to carry that legacy forward. We hope the poems shared here will encourage people to look beyond the immediate concerns of their own lives and recognise the larger human experiences that connect us.”