11th Srinivas Rayaprol Poetry Prize announced

The Srinivas Rayaprol Literary Trust has announced the 11th annual prize in poetry, 2019, to 27-year old independent writer and artist based in Bangalore, Prashant Parvataneni. He was chosen for the prestigious prize from a field of 170 contestants from around the country by a jury consisting of the eminent poet, playwright, and artist, Dr Gieve Patel and two faculty members of the University of Hyderabad.

This year awardee Prashant is part of a collective called brown-study which works towards developing forms of thinking and experimenting with artistic texts and experiences. As a researcher and translator, he also works with the Kabir Project at the Srishti Institute of Art on an online archive of poems from Sufi and Bhakti traditions.

Recognised as a significant award for creative writing in India, the prize was instituted by the Hyderabad-based Srinivas Rayaprol Literary Trust to recognize excellence in poetry written in English by poets in the age group of 20-40 years. It is jointly administered by the Department of English, University of Hyderabad.

The award, consisting of a citation and cash prize of Rs 15,000 will be presented to the winner at Hyderabad Literature Festival. Two new publications from the trust will be announced at the event – 'Why Should I write a Poem Now – The letters of Srinivas Rayaprol and William Carlos Williams' and 'Angular Desire: Selected Poems and Prose by Srinivas Rayaprol' (and edited by Graziano Kratli and Vidyan Ravinthiran). In addition, Graziano Kratli, Yale University librarian will speak on Srinivas Rayaprol; writer and poet Jerry Pinto and Aishwarya Iyer, poet and former winner of the award will read from Rayaprol- Williams letters.