200. What Makes an 'Indian' Poet | Featuring 9 Poets

The Penguin Book of Indian Poets, the definitive anthology of Indian poetry in English for the next decade and more edited by Jeet Thayil, returns the forgotten figures of Indian poetry to the centre where they belong. 

Jeet compiled the work of 94 poets for this anthology, the oldest born in 1924 and the youngest in 2001. With the aim of giving readers a deeper understanding of a vast and fluid poetic tradition, this collection brings together writers from across the world, a wealth of voices that present an expansive, encompassing idea of what makes an ‘Indian’ poet.

This anthology is the culmination of a project Jeet began twenty years ago with a special supplement for Fulcrum, a poetry annual out of Boston. That was followed by 60 Indian Poets (Penguin India) and The Bloodaxe Book of Contemporary Indian Poets (Bloodaxe UK). This anthology, the final iteration, encompasses 75 years of Indian poetry in English. At 908 pages, it is voluminous and exhaustive, with 94 poets from all over the world. The poets of the Indian canon include Ezekiel, Kolatkar, de Souza, Das, Mehrotra, Ramanujan, Jussawalla, but so are vital newer voices such as Vijay Seshadri, Vahni Capildeo, Bhanu Kapil, Daljit Nagra, Rajiv Mohabir and Raena Shirali, among many others.

This episode of BIC Talks is adapted from a BIC Venue event that took place in late April 2022.

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