100 Thousand Poets for Change, Mumbai
In 2011, Michael Rothenberg and Terri Carrion co-founded a phenomenal movement, 100 Thousand Poets for Change – an event that focused attention on Peace, Justice and Sustainability through the eyes of poets who believed in a better world. As 700 poets signed up to organise events on a single day around the world, Stanford University called it the largest reading in history.
In Mumbai, in 2011, Menka Shivdasani organised a multilingual programme at the Mumbai Press Club, and a workshop for tribal children with Anju Makhija. Then, in 2012, Kitab Khana, a wonderful bookstore in the heart of Mumbai offered its support. In 2022, we organised the 11th edition of 100 Thousand Poets for Change in Mumbai in association with Kitab Khana.
One of the highlights of the 100 Thousand Poets for Change Mumbai event is a programme for children, who present their original poems on various themes related to peace, justice and sustainability. In an initiative spearheaded by Rati Dady Wadia, we have published three collections of their work.
In Picture (left): Michael Rothenberg with Menka Shivdasani at Salerno, Italy, in 2015 at a global conference of 100 Thousand Poets for Change organisers. Seen here is the first book of poems by children brought out by 100 Thousand Poets For Change, Mumbai. At right, the three books of poems by children brought out by 100 Thousand Poets for Change Mumbai.
“We are in a world where it isn’t just one issue that needs to be addressed. A common ground is built through this global compilation of local stories, which is how we create a true narrative for discourse to inform the future.”
Michael Rothenberg (1951 – 2022)
Co-founder, 100 Thousand Poets for Change
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100 Thousand Poets for Change: 10+ Years of Poetic Activism Launched
Rekindling the Fire, my essay on 100 Thousand Poets for Change Mumbai, appeared in 100 Thousand Poets for Change: 10+ Years of Poetic Activism. A Collective Memory (2011-2023), published in the United States and edited by Pilar Rodríguez Aranda, Lisa Vihos and Canuto Roldán. Here’s the link to my presentation, which appeared in an edited version, as part of a spectacular global launch on September 24, 2023.
MENKA SHIVDASANI 