PEN ALL-INDIA CENTRE ANNOUNCES PEN@PRITHVI
Bombay’s new hub for the written word

The PEN All-India Centre is happy to announce a new initiative in collaboration with one of Bombay’s most highly-regarded theatre venues Prithvi Theatre. Launching on April 15th, 2006, PEN@PRITHVI will be a monthly session (every second Saturday) conducted by the PEN where people interested in the written word can gather to read/share/discuss texts from all genres, in an atmosphere of informed and engaging conviviality. The idea is to extend the reach of the PEN from South Bombay (where the centre is officially located) to the suburbs, to establish a literary platform in reversal of the regular southbound cultural traffic; and to explore a new synergy of writers, readers and listeners.

With a view to promoting the PEN ideals of freedom of expression and literature as common currency among nations, chosen texts would be those that provoke intellectual debate and discussion, resist and/or court controversy/censorship, break new ground in theory or practice, celebrate the spirit of inquiry, are seminal to our understanding of other cultures, are inventive and innovative in the pursuit of language and so on.

By transposing the ‘solitary act’ of reading into the community, the sessions will be a celebration of the need to share the word in a performative way, a function that fits seamlessly into the traditions of Prithvi Theatre, the venue at which the sessions will be held. The hope being that with time, and though various forms, PEN@PRITHVI will become a place where the ethos of community meets the ethics of writing in an increasingly beleaguered world.

PEN@PRITHVI’s inaugural session titled ‘Mad Journeys: An exploration of travel as an inspired act of lunacy, defiance and faith and the traveller as maverick, visionary and madman’ takes place on Saturday, April 15, 2006, 6.30 pm onwards, at Prithvi House, First Floor. All are welcome.

ANNOUNCING THE LAUNCH OF PENUMBRA:
A Journal of the PEN All-India Centre

The PEN All-India Centre is happy to announce the launch of its Journal PENUMBRA (Vol. 1, No. 1) at Prithvi Theatre on April 23rd, World Book Day. The inaugural issue will be released by Mr. Shashi Kapoor, and will be followed by a reading of extracts from the Journal. The theme of the issue, in keeping with the season, is that of ‘Resurgence’ and will feature prose, poetry, interviews and essays from contributors across the country.

A number of synergies are at play here. April 23rd, Shakespeare’s birthday, celebrated world-wide as World Book Day; Prithvi Theatre’s long and vibrant association with Shakespeareana; International PEN’s commitment to free speech and dissemination of literature among cultures and nations; and Indian PEN’s renewed and revitalised presence as a literary platform and community of the like-minded. With the launch of PENUMBRA, the aim is to start a whole new chapter, and reach out to a whole new audience.

PENUMBRA: A Journal of the PEN All-India Centre will be launched at Prithvi Theatre on Sunday, April 23rd, 11am-12noon
and at Theosophy Hall on Monday, April 24th, 6.15 pm. All are welcome.