Kolkata Book Fair 2008
The United States of America has been elected the focal theme country for the 2008 Book Fair and will be given a pavilion to showcase its books and publishers. Also, a US Kolkata Literary Exchange (USKLE) has been created to organize this event with the Consulate General of the United States of America in Kolkata. The Kolkata Book Fair is scheduled for January 30 to February 10, 2008.
Pulitzer Prize winning poet Yusef Komunyakaa will lead the delegation to the 2008 Kolkata Book Fair. Joining him on the board of advisers are several US poet laureates, including Rita Dove and Donald Hall.
According to Henry V Jardine, the United States Consul General in Kolkata, "With the United States as the “Theme Country” this year, the Consulate along with other organizations will work to bring a range of great programs, with prominent authors, artists, and academics. We will have a full schedule of events throughout the Fair time to highlight the life, culture, literature and arts of the United States. The Kolkata-based American Library will provide a display of some of its many books, periodicals and electronic media that are available for students, academics, or anyone wanting access to the Library’s collection. Also, our office of the U.S. Educational Foundation in India (USEFI) will conduct programs for prospective students interested in studying in the United States. USEFI has done such an impressive job over the last few years in promoting United States schools and universities that Indian students now represent the largest number of foreign students in the United States. “SPAN” Magazine, which is a popular source of information on the close Indo-U.S. relationship, will also have representatives present and a display to highlight its more fascinating articles about shared Indian and American experiences."
Less than 24 hours before its inauguration, Kolkata High Court has banned the 33rd Kolkata Book Fair from being held on the Park Circus Maidan on environmental grounds. The fair was to be held from January 29 to February 10. The court verdict is a culmination of a long-drawn battle between the environmentalists and the state on holding fairs at the Maidan, close to Victoria Memorial. In November 2003, the state had assured the court all fairs would be shifted from the Maidan and a permanent complex would come up on the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass.
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