HOUSTON: JLF International, which has proven itself to be an invigorating confluence of literary voices, shall be returning to Houston for its seventh iteration, with sessions running from September 6th till September 8th, 2024. Presented by Teamwork Arts in partnership with the Asia Society Texas, Inprint, Rothko Chapel, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the Eternal Gandhi Museum Houston, JLF Houston promises to be an insightful literary journey.
Elizabeth Hsu
Cristina Garza
Fady Joudah
Shashi Tharoor
Vidya Shah
Throughout the event, writers, performers, and artists shall be tackling an array of multifaceted conversations, from the existing interplay between tragedy and writing, to the means by which we persist in the face of imminent catastrophe. The festival shall commence with an amalgamation of music and poetry, featuring the talents of Pandit Shubhendra Rao, Saskia Rao-de Haas, Subroto Bhattacharya, and Elizabeth Hsu. This will be followed by a holistic tour across the realms of art and culture, helmed by acclaimed art historian Bradley Bailey.
Further on in the festival, attendees will have the pleasure of gaining insight into the creative process of celebrated writers such as Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni and Shashi Tharoor, who shall be conversing on countless aspects which make up the act of writing. Cristina Rivera Garza, winner of the Pulitzer Prize 2024 for her memoir, Liliana’s Invincible Summer, and Fady Joudah, a Palestinian-American poet and physician, will be reflecting on the role played by lived experiences when putting thoughts to paper.
Environmental journalist and writer John Vaillant shall be drawing attention to the onset of global environmental catastrophe. Beyond the many invaluable sessions on writing, JLF Houston shall be collaborating with a number of brilliant artists and musicians, who will be bringing their craft to the stage across the festival. This will include a tribute to the history of women in music, where classical musician Vidya Shah, in conversation with Mohan Ambikaipaker, shall illuminate the lives and contributions of artists which have all but vanished from collective memory.
JLF Houston 2024 invites all lovers of literature to take part in a multitudinous celebration of the infinite stories, ideas, traditions, and revolutions that have shaped our cultures and identities since the dawn of history. Every year, JLF continues to inspire!
