May 1, Kathmandu
International multilingual poet Santosh Kumar Pokharel’s fifth Poetry Collection ‘The War & Other Poems’ has been launched at Thaha Library in Minbhavan Kathmandu. The launch ceremony was held under the chairmanship of Prof. Dr. Sanjay Mishra, Head of the English Department of Patan Multiple Campus, and Prof. Dr. Jib Lal Sapkota, Head of Tribhuvan University English Department was the chief guest. Dr. Rajan Prasad Pokharel, Professor of the English Department of Patan Multiple Campus, and Mahesh Paudel, Professor of the English Department of Tribhuvan University, reviewed the book. Professor Jib Lal’s in-depth discussion on poetry and Prof. Sanjay Mishra’s critical presentation on the book captivated the audience. Manda Paudel and Satyaraj Joshi recited poems from ‘The War & Other Poems’.
In that very literary gathering, Dr. Sanjay Mishra, head professor of the English Department of Patan Multipurpose Campus, gave his opinion on poet Pokharel’s poems and recommended Dr. Jib Lal Sapkota, head professor of the English Department of Tribhuvan University, to put the poems of this book in the English course. Critic Mahesh Paudyal explored and highlighted on strengths and weaknesses of Pokharel’s poetry works. Poet Pokharel had responded to the remarks by the critics.
Nepal poet Pokharel is a poet who has been honored with the Anton Chekhov International Award from Russia, the Golden Writer of the World Award from ten countries, The Best International Poet Award from China, and more than three dozen other international awards. Pokharel writes in four languages. More than thirty poems from this book have found their places in many languages of the world. This book, divided into five parts namely, Wartime and Other Poems, Lyrical and Metaphysical, Poems for the Kids, Love and Beauty and COVID and Human Life, contains 97 original English poems by the poet.