Walking Cities paired Indian and Welsh writers giving them the opportunity to tour each other’s home cities and region through the eyes of the local host.
In November 2014, Eurig Salisbury and Rhian Edwards explored Mumbai through the perspective of poets Sampurna Chattarji and Ranjit Hoskote; in January 2015, Jonathan Edwards and Joe Dunthorne discovered Kolkata with Tishani Doshi and Jeet Thayil - watch the video of their visit below. The eight poets were then reunited in Wales in May, this time to discover the urban and coastal landscapes that have inspired our Welsh poets.
The Welsh poets lead walks in Bridgend, Ogmore, Porthcawl, Southerndown, Swansea, Newport and Laugharne and they were joined at various stages by other local writers and artists to uncover hidden layers and stories in the places they visited. At the end of the visit, the poets travelled to London for an afternoon of reading, discussion and music at Southbank Centre, City to City , as a part of Alchemy 2015.
Welsh Poets:
Eurig Salisbury – poet, academic and former Bardd Plant Cymru; winner of Gold Medal at National Eisteddfod.
Joe Dunthorne – Swansea bred writer of acclaimed Submarine and Wild Abandon and a recent book of poetry.
Jonathan Edwards – poet and teacher based in Crosskeys. First collection of poetry, My Family and Other Superheroes, won Costa Prize for Poetry 2015.
Rhian Edwards – poet based in Bridgend. Her debut collection, Clueless Dogs, won Wales Book of the Year in 2013 and was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Poetry.
Indian Poets:
Jeet Thayil – novelist, poet, musician and critic based in Delhi. His novel, Narcopolis, was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2012 and the DSC South East Asian prize for literature.
Ranjit Hoskote – poet, curator and critical theorist from Mumbai. Has written five collections of poetry and was published in the UK in The Anthology of Contemporary Indian Poetry.
Sampurna Chattarji – prolific and acclaimed Bengali poet, translator and novelist based in Mumbai whose work has been translated into Welsh.
Tishani Doshi – Chennai based novelist, poet and dancer born to a Welsh mother and Gujarati father. Has won the Eric Gregory Prize for Poetry and the Forward Poetry Prize.