Karachi, 20 April: “To celebrate 70 years of Pakistan’s creation, Pakistan’s biggest literary event, the Karachi Literature Festival (KLF) produced by Oxford University Press (OUP), will be launched in London on 20 May 2017 at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, as part of their Alchemy festival. KLF London promises to be a vibrant celebration of Pakistani literature and arts.” This was announced by Ameena Saiyid, Managing Director of OUP, at a reception co-hosted with the British Business Centre for UK-based business organizations in Karachi.
Ameena Saiyid highlighted that, with its unparalleled creative culture and range of diverse communities, London is the ideal city for KLF to launch itself outside Pakistan. The event will be a great opportunity for London’s significant population of South Asian origin to gain an insight into the region’s complex history and culture as expressed through its literature and arts.
Southbank Centre, the venue of the festival, is a world-famous arts centre in London which hosts a wide range of cultural events throughout the year. Alchemy, held annually at the Southbank Centre, is a festival celebrating the rich cultural relationship between the UK and South Asia.
An exciting programme comprising panel discussions, poetry readings, mushaira, and performances is planned for the London edition of KLF. The festival will feature a line-up of around 70 leading Pakistani-origin and international writers, scholars, critics, journalists, and artists. Around 20 sessions showcasing Pakistan’s rich history, literature, and culture are planned. A separate stand for children will also be a part of the festival programme.
Ameena disclosed that the bestselling author and journalist, Mohammed Hanif, will be the keynote speaker at the KLF London inauguration. Some of the prominent speakers participating in KLF London include: Aamer Hussein, Asif Kapadia, Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, Bina Shah, Claire Chambers, Faris Kermani, Farooq Bajwa, Fifi Haroon, H. M. Naqvi, Imtiaz Dharker, Ishrat Husain, Kamila Shamsie, Kamran Asdar Ali, Khaled Anam, Laurent Gayer, Maheen Khan, Maleeha Lodhi, Mirza Waheed, Moni Mohsin, Mukulika Banerjee, Nasrin Mahmud Kasuri, Nimra Bucha, Omar Shahid Hamid, Owen Bennett-Jones, Qaisra Shahraz, Rehan Sheikh, Sarah Ansari, Shayma Saiyid, Sherry Rehman, Shuja Nawaz, Taimur Rahman, Urvashi Butalia, Victoria Schofield, Zaffar Kunial, Zehra Nigah, and Ziauddin Sardar. Musical performances by Khumariyaan and Saif Samejo are scheduled for the evening.
KLF London sessions cover themes of migration and displacement in novels; women and transgender rights, geopolitical challenges facing Pakistan; Pakistan’s education system; gender and class divide in Pakistan; challenges faced by Urdu as a national language; Partition stories; influence of social media on Pakistan’s politics; and challenges facing diaspora Pakistanis in Europe.
KLF London is being organized in collaboration with Nadir Cheema, Tariq Suleman, and Nigham Shahid of Bloomsbury Pakistan (a research collective based in London), Rukhsana Ahmed, and Southbank Centre, London.
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