K. Satchidanandan to get 8th Mahakavi Kanhaiyalal Sethia Award for Poetry at Jaipur Literature Festival 2023

New Delhi: The sixteenth edition of the iconic Jaipur Literature Festival is all set to run from 19^th-23^rd January at Hotel Clarks Amer, Jaipur. As every year, the Festival will recognize a poet of repute with the Mahakavi Kanhaiyalal Sethia Award for Poetry. Given in association with the Mahakavi Kanhaiyalal Sethia Foundation, the award is a tribute to Mahakavi Kanhaiyalal Sethia and his immense repertoire. In addition to a cash prize of Rs. 1 lakh, the winner receives a memento of appreciation along with a felicitation at the Festival.

Following a unanimous decision by the jury committee, the winner for the eighth Mahakavi Kanhaiyalal Sethia Poetry Award is the pioneering modern Indian poet, critic, editor, translator, and academic. K. Satchidanandan. A former Secretary of the Sahitya Akademi, Satchidanandan has authored twenty-one collections of poetry, sixteen books of translations of world poetry and twenty-one works of literary criticism in Malayalam and English besides plays and travelogues. He has won twenty-five awards for his literary contribution from diverse institutions in India and abroad and is a Fellow of the Kerala Academy of Literature. Representative collections of his poetry have appeared in eighteen languages. His work has appeared in anthologies of poetry in several countries across the world from the USA to Australia.

The award is given out after a careful selection process by an eminent jury comprising renowned, discerning litterateurs and experts, namely Festival Co-Director Namita Gokhale; Managing Director, Teamwork Arts, and Festival Producer Sanjoy K. Roy; eminent poets Ranjit Hoskote and Anamika; and Siddharth Sethia of the Mahakavi Kanhaiyalal Sethia Foundation.

Announcing the award, Siddharth Sethia, Mahakavi Kanhaiyalal Sethia Foundation, said, “Mahakavi Kanhaiyalal Sethia Poetry award in association with the Jaipur Literature Festival is a platform which brings the versatility of Indian poetry to a global audience.”

Sanjoy K. Roy, Managing Director, Teamwork Arts, producer of the Jaipur Literature Festival, said, “We are delighted to present the 8th Mahakavi Kanhaiyalal Sethia Award for Poetry, recognising an extraordinary body of work by a pioneering poet. This year, as we celebrate the power of literature, all our nominees have showcased their brilliance and artistry with words, creating magic and transporting us to a different realm. Our award-winner for 2023 is the celebrated poet, critic, editor, translator, academic and thinker, K. Satchidanandan.