Last night, at the Herbert Gallery in central Coventry, I had the great pleasure of hearing poets Daljit Nagra and Amarjit Chandan read their work to a large and appreciative audience. The £2 entry fee - far too low, I'm sure - covered both the poetry and a delicious Indian buffet of assorted samosas, dips and authentic Indian sweets of milk and sugar. There goes the diet again!
It was a truly enjoyable evening, and I walked away with a signed copy of Amarjit's pamphlet 'Being Here' from The Many Press, already having Daljit's excellent Faber debut, 'Look We Have Coming to Dover!' at home.
I can highly recommend Amarjit Chandan's poetry to anyone not familiar with it. He performed his poems in Punjabi first; very melodically, almost singing them at times, with his skilled repetitions inviting responses from Punjabi-speaking members of the audience. His own English translations were then read by the Coventry-based actress Manjinder Virk (Bend It Like Beckham, Brits, etc.).
Daljit Nagra now has his own home page, for bookings and information.
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