South Asian writers to read at Decatur Library this Sunday

By Franklin Abbott

This Sunday, Aug, 16, at 3 p.m., 11 South Asian writers will come together for a reading at the Decatur Library. The reading is sponsored by Khabar Magazine and Special Collections in the archives of Georgia State University. The reading will highlight a new project to collect oral histories and supporting materials for the archives at GSU. Ajay Vishwanathan, author of A Tilted Pail, will emcee and read from his book of short stories.

Joining Vishwanathan is Jaya Kamlani, who will read from her new book of poems, Garden of Life, about dreams and legends, war and peace. She is also author of a book of essays, To India, With Tough Love and a memoir, Scent of Yesterday. Author Reetika K. Nijhawan will be reading from her new book Kismetwali and Other Stories which explores the class divides in India. Pakistani-American author Soniah Kamal will read from her novel An Isolated Incident. Set in Pakistan and Kashmir, the novel explores how a family copes with a devastating loss.

Khabar publisher Parthiv Parekh and editor Murali Kamma will read from their works. Poet and Hindu short story writer Kamla Dutt will share new work. Agnes Scott professor and poet, Waqas Khwaja, will read poems. Two highly respected scholars and longtime Atlanta residents, Uma and Bagirath Majmudar, will read. Journalist Anjali Enjeti, who hosted a panel on South Asian literature at last year’s Decatur Book Festival, will read from her new work. Morna Gerrard from the Georgia State University archive Special Collections will talk about the importance of oral histories. Authors will be available to sign books after the readings and the new issue of Khabar will be on hand for the audience.

The event is free and open to the public. The Decatur Library is at 215 Sycamore St. in Decatur, a block from the Decatur MARTA Station.

Franklin Abbott is an Atlanta psychotherapist and poet. For more, visit franklinabbott.com.