''Poetry Chain'' is an English poetry journal of India published quarterly from

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The Indian English poet

Gopi Kottoor use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , death_cause = , body_discovered = , resting_place = , resting_place_coordinates ...

is its founder editor. The journal was founded in 1997 with the mentoring of the Indian poet

Ayyappa Paniker Dr. K. Ayyappa Paniker, sometimes spelt "Ayyappa Panicker" (12 September 1930 – 23 August 2006), was a Malayalam poet, literary critic, and an academic and a scholar in modern and post-modern literary theories as well as ancient Indian aesthe ...

, who was involved with the journal until his death in 2007. In 2009 it was relaunched as online-only publication.

Inception and growth

''Poetry Chain'' started in 1997 as an informal platform for budding poets. Over the years it has acquired substance and stature under the able guidance of

and his circle of poet collaborators. The journal's life patrons include

Sitakant Mahapatra Sitakant Mahapatra (born 17 September 1937) is an Indian poet and literary critic in Odia as well as English. He served in the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) from 1961 until he retired in 1995, and has held ''ex officio'' posts such as the ...

, Dr HK Kaul (Poetry Society, India), and Padmasree award winner

Jayanta Mahapatra Jayanta Mahapatra (born 22 October 1928) is an Indian English poet. He is the first Indian poet to win a Sahitya Akademi award for English poetry. He is the author of poems such as "Indian Summer" and "Hunger", which are regarded as classic ...

. The journal has published internationally renowned poets like Jayanta Mahapatra along acclaimed as well as lesser known poets from all over India. The journal went on to discover many new talents, especially young voices on the poetry horizon. Poets who have read under the ''Poetry Chain'' banner include

Ruth Padel Ruth Sophia Padel FRSL FZS is a British poet, novelist and non-fiction author, known for her poetic explorations of migration, both animal and human, and her involvement with classical music, wildlife conservation and Greece, ancient and modern. ...

Tapan Kumar Pradhan Tapan Kumar Pradhan (born 1972) is an Indian poet, writer and translator from Odisha. He is best known for his poem collection "Kalahandi" which was awarded second place in Sahitya Akademi's Golden Jubilee ''Indian Literature'' Translation Prize ...

and

Meena Alexander Meena Alexander (17 February 1951 – 21 November 2018) was an Indian American poet, scholar, and writer. Born in Allahabad, India, and raised in India and Sudan, Alexander later lived and worked in New York City, where she was a Distinguished P ...

. The Awards for poetry instituted by Poetry Chain and in collaboration with

The Poetry Society (India) The Poetry Society (India) was formed in July 1984 at New Delhi as a voluntary association to promote Indian poetry and to look after the interests of Indian Poets. The founding members included the Indian poets Keshav Malik, J P Das, H K Kaul ...

are the Father, Wake Us In Passing Poetry Prize,

Agha Shahid Ali Agha Shahid Ali (4 February 1949 – 8 December 2001) was an Indian-born poet who immigrated to the United States, and became affiliated with the literary movement known as New Formalism in American poetry. His collections include ''A Walk T ...

Poetry Prize, and The Best Chosen Poet of the year. In July 2009, the journal became an online-only publication.

New Poetry Chain

The New Poetry Chain which is a part of

Indian Writers Association use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , death_cause = , body_discovered = , resting_place = , resting_place_coordinates ...

. Gopi Kottoor is one out of seven member of the advisory board of Indian Writers Association.

Poetry get-together

''Poetry Chain'' has been organizing periodic get-together of poets to facilitate exchange of ideas. From June 2013, Poetry Chain has started conducting monthly meeting of both aspiring and established poets. The meeting is conducted in the last Saturday of every month. ''Poetry Chain'' has become a platform of interaction for Indian poets writing in English residing in different parts of the country. Although ''Poetry Chain'' journal has a pan Indian flavor, it has occasionally highlighted local Kerala based themes like

Onam Onam ( ) is an annual Indian harvest festival celebrated predominantly by the Hindus of Kerala. A major annual event for Keralites, it is the official festival of the state and includes a spectrum of cultural events. Onam commemorates Vamana ...

also.

Publication

* ''A New Book of Indian Poems In English'' (2000) ed. by

and published by Poetry Chain and

Writers Workshop Writers Workshop is a Kolkata-based literary publisher founded by the Indian poet and scholar Purushottama Lal in 1958. It has published many new Indian authors of post-independence urban literature. Many of these authors later became widely kn ...

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

References

External links

Official website
1997 establishments in Kerala Defunct magazines published in India English-language magazines published in India Indian literature websites Indian poetry Literary magazines published in India Magazines established in 1997 Magazines disestablished in 2007 Online literary magazines Online magazines published in India Online magazines with defunct print editions Poetry literary magazines Quarterly magazines published in India {{italic title