Kolkata Literary Meet: Booker recipient Bernardine Evaristo advocates for inclusivity in literature

Booker Prize winner Bernardine Evaristo emphasises the importance of literary meets in promoting diverse voices and nurturing writers.

Booker Prize winner Bernardine Evaristo inaugurated the Kolkata Literary Meet on Tuesday, January 21, 2025. In her inaugural speech, she highlighted the importance of literary meets and how they can help more voices be heard and help sustain the literary ecosystem. The author, who was the first black woman British national to win the Booker Prize in 2019, said that the community must make space for marginalised authors to showcase their voices.

The award-winning author of Girl, Woman, Other, Bernardine Evaristo, began the proceedings by signing the traditional inaugural canvas. 

She stated that the literary ecosystem only sees authors getting exposure in front of the world and literally meets like the 13th edition of the Kolkata Literary Meet are crucial to help all stakeholders of this ecosystem interact and grow. She said, “We writers would be nowhere without the readers who consume our books, critics who mediate between us and the readers, the academics who interrogate our works, and the publishers.” She highlighted that when all of these entities work harmoniously then the good writers grow and get nurtured. She insisted that literary festivals act as a vessel for the same. 

Commenting on the times that we live in, Ms. Evaristo added that writers are crucial in helping explore the world from multiple perspectives. She further said, “As a writer and a literary activist, I feel it is very important that the literature that gets out there has multiple worldviews and demographics. Because the way the world is moving, we are heading towards a point-of-view that could potentially be very damaging for all of us.” 

While speaking to The Hindu about her idea of inclusivity in the world of literature and art, Ms. Evaristo said to create an inclusive space every individual and group has to take up the onus to make space for the other and make more marginalised people part of the conversation. She added, “Regardless of which community we come from, we have to be proactive in making sure that our voices are heard. We have to take responsibility as individuals and as a community and that is how we begin to change rather than expecting others to make change on our behalf.” 

Organised by Coal India, the Kolkata Literary Meet is set to be held between January 21-26 and is set to be attended by over 150 speakers, including two Nobel Laureates. The festival will have speakers like Upamanyu Chatterjee, Abraham Varghese, Esther Duflo, Amol Palekar, Shabana Azmi, Rajit Kapoor, photographer Dayanita Singh, Kannal Gill, and many others. Conversations on books, arts, and cinema are set to keep the cultural capital of India and its residents engrossed for the week to come.