Conversations and Poetry from the Forests
Jacinta Kerketta in dialogue with Atreyee Chakraborty and Judith Misrahi-Barak
EMMA, March 10, 2026
18h, room 126 STC 1
ZOOM link : https://univ-montp3-fr.zoom.us/j/98789523219?pwd=x4VvG1Wy8w34lA0Kl1u1BTd...
Jacinta Kerketta will speak to the question of contemporary Adivasi / Indigenous poetry in India and about her work as a poet and a journalist. She will engage in a conversation with Atreyee Chakraborty and Judith Misrahi-Barak and will also be reading from her work.
Jacinta Kerketta is a Hindi language poet and independent journalist. She was born on August 3, 1983, in Khudpos village of West Singhbhum district in Jharkhand. She belongs to the Oraon tribal community of Jharkhand. She has published four poetry collections: Angor, which has been translated into German, Italian, Spanish and French (Éditions Banyan); Jadoon Ki Zameen, which has been translated into German; Ishwar Aur Bazaar, and Prem Mein Per Hona. She has also published two books for children: Jacinta Ki Diary and a poetry collection, Jirhul. Her poems have been translated into several Indian languages too. She has given poetry readings in several states of India and in many countries in Europe, North America and South America.
She has also been honoured with many awards, the first of which was the Voice of Asia Recognition Award from the Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact, Thailand, in 2014, closely followed by the prestigious United Nations Development Program Fellowship and the Prerna Samman from the Chotanagpur Cultural Association of Jharkhand. Other awards were granted the following years.
In 2022, Forbes India included her in its list of 22 self-made women of India. In 2024, she was awarded the Omega Resilience Award by the American organization Common Wheel and the Delhi-based organization Start Up. In 2025, she was honored with the Agyeya Shabd Srijan Samman by the Shabd organization based in Bangalore, as well as with the Mati Ratan Samman from the Ashfaqullah Khan Memorial Shaheed Research Institute in Faizabad. In 2026, she was selected for the Villa Swagatam Indo-French Cultural Exchange Program organized by the French Institute. She will be spending her residency at the Maison Julien Gracq.
In 2023 and 2024, she refused to accept two awards, both domestic and international, in protest against the violence in Manipur and to express her solidarity with the struggle of the Palestinian people.
Currently, she is writing short stories and children's books.
This event is in collaboration with the Network for Dalit and Adivasi Literatures and Performing Arts. It is part of the CADALFEST series.
Jacinta Kerketta should also participate in the launch of the Printemps des poètes at Maison de la Poésie Jean Jourbert, Montpellier, on March 11, 2026.