Easterine Kire

Last updated

Easterine Kire
Born (1959-03-29) 29 March 1959 (age 64)
Kohima, Nagaland (Union Territory) (Now Kohima, Nagaland, India)
Occupation
  • Author
  • poet
Alma mater North-Eastern Hill University
Period1982–present
Genre
Spouse Kaka D. Iralu
(died 2020)

Easterine Kire is a poet and author who currently lives in northern Norway. The majority of her writings are based in the lived realities of the people in Nagaland in north-east India. [1] Her motivation to write is summed up in this statement by her in an interview, "I felt we needed to create written Naga Literature. We have so much oral narratives but with oral dying out, it's all going to be lost." Apart from writing, she also performs Jazz poetry with her band Jazzpoesi. [2]

Contents

Early life

Easterine Kire was born on 29 March 1959 in Kohima to an Angami Naga family from Kohima Village. She did her schooling in Baptist English School. She then went to pursue her undergraduate study in Shillong followed by a course in journalism in Delhi. She received a doctorate in English literature from Savitribai Phule Pune University.

Books

Easterine Kire published her first book of poetry in 1982 titled "Kelhoukevira". This was also the first book of Naga poetry published in English. Her novel "A Naga Village Remembered" published in 2003 was the first novel by a Naga writer in English. [3] Her second novel was "A Terrible Matriarchy" (2007) followed by "Mari" (2010), "Bitter Wormwood" (2011), "Don't Run, My Love" (2017) and "Walking the Roadless Road: Exploring the Tribes of Nagaland" (2019). Her latest book "Spirit Nights" was published in 2022. [4] She has also written children's books, articles and essays. Her first children's book in English was published in 2011. Kire has also translated 200 oral poems from her native language. [5]

"A Naga Village Remembered" is about a battle between the British forces and one Naga hamlet. "A Terrible Matriarchy" highlights the internal and social strife that grips Nagaland as a state in India. [6] "Mari" is a novel based on the Japanese invasion of India in 1944 via Nagaland. It is a true story of a young mother who lost her fiancé in the war and made the decision to move ahead and live her life. This is an example of how Kire through her works has tried to bring to the fore the everyday lives of the people in Nagaland. "Bitter Wormwood", yet again brought out the human cost (effect on human lives) which was involved behind all the news that made the political headlines from the North-East.

Apart from bringing a focus on the vibrant Naga culture, Kire's work has also brought out the realities which have changed the lives of Naga women.

Awards and recognitions

Easterin Kire's "Son of the Thundercloud" has been awarded Bal Sahitya Puraskar by Sahitya Academy in 2018. In 2011, Easterine Kire was awarded the Governor's Medal for excellence in Naga literature. She was also awarded the Free Voice Award by Catalan PEN Barcelona. "Bitter Wormwood" was shortlisted for The Hindu Prize in 2013.

"A Terrible Matriarchy" was selected to be translated into UN languages. Furthermore, the books "A Terrible Matriarchy", "Mari", "Forest Song", "Naga Folktales Retold" and "A Naga Village Remembered" have been translated into German. In 2015, her "When the River Sleeps" was awarded The Hindu Literary Prize. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nagaland</span> State in northeastern India

Nagaland is a landlocked state in the north-eastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south, and the Naga Self-Administered Zone of the Sagaing Region of Myanmar (Burma) to the east. Its capital city is Kohima and its largest city is the twin Chümoukedima–Dimapur. The state has an area of 16,579 square kilometres (6,401 sq mi) with a population of 1,980,602 as per the 2011 Census of India, making it one of the smallest states of India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northeast India</span> Group of Northeastern Indian states

Northeast India, officially known as the North Eastern Region(NER) is the easternmost region of India representing both a geographic and political administrative division of the country. It comprises eight states—Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura (commonly known as the "Seven Sisters"), and the "brother" state of Sikkim.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kohima</span> Capital of the Indian state of Nagaland

Kohima is the capital of the Indian state of Nagaland. With a resident population of almost 100,000, it is the second largest city in the state. Kohima constitutes both a district and a municipality. The municipality covers 20 km2 (7.7 sq mi). The city lies on the foothills of Japfü section of the Barail Range located south of the District and has an average elevation of 1,261 m (4,137 ft).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neiphiu Rio</span> Indian politician

Neiphiu Guolhoulie Rio is an Indian politician who serving as the 9th and current Chief Minister of Nagaland since 2018, previously 2008 to 2014 and from 2003 to 2008. He is the only Nagaland Chief Minister to have serving five consecutive terms, and is the longest serving Chief Minister of Nagaland. He was also a Member of Parliament from Nagaland in Lok Sabha from 2014 to 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rani Gaidinliu</span> Indian freedom fighter

Gaidinliu Pamei popularly known as Rani Gaidinliu was a Naga spiritual and political leader who led a revolt against British rule in India. At the age of 13, she joined the Heraka religious movement of her cousin Haipou Jadonang. The movement later turned into a political movement seeking to drive out the British from Manipur and the surrounding Naga areas. Within the Heraka faith, she came to be considered an incarnation of the Goddess Cherachamdinliu. Gaidinliu was arrested in 1932 at the age of 16, and was sentenced to life imprisonment by the British rulers. Jawaharlal Nehru met her at Shillong Jail in 1937, and promised to pursue her release. Nehru gave her the title of "Rani" ("Queen"), and she gained local popularity as Rani Gaidinliu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anita Nair</span> English-language Indian novelist

Anita Nair is an Indian novelist who writes her books in English. She is best known for her novels A Better Man, Mistress, and Lessons in Forgetting. She has also written poetry, essays, short stories, crime fiction, historical fiction, romance, and children's literature, including Muezza and Baby Jaan: Stories from the Quran.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kamala Surayya</span> Indian poet and author (1934–2009)

Kamala Das , popularly known by her one-time pen name Madhavikutty, was an Indian poet in English as well as an author in Malayalam from Kerala, India. Her popularity in Kerala is based chiefly on her short stories and autobiography, while her oeuvre in English, written under the name Kamala Das, is noted for the poems and explicit autobiography. She was also a widely read columnist and wrote on diverse topics including women's issues, child care, politics, etc. Her liberal treatment of female sexuality, marked her as an iconoclast in popular culture of her generation. On 31 May 2009, aged 75, she died at Jehangir Hospital in Pune.

Shürhozelie Liezietsu is an Indian politician from Nagaland in Northeast India who served as the 11th Chief Minister of Nagaland from 22 February 2017 to 19 July 2017. He was the President of Naga People's Front till October 2023

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anjum Hasan</span> Indian writer

Anjum Hasan is an Indian novelist, short story writer, poet, and editor. She graduated in philosophy from North-Eastern Hill University in Shillong, Meghalaya. She currently lives in Bangalore, Karnataka, India.

Rita Chowdhury is an Indian poet and novelist who writes Assamese literature and is a recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award. She is the editor of the Assamese literary magazine Gariyoshi and a former director of the National Book Trust, India. She has been a professor and lecturer at Cotton College, Guwahati, Assam in the Political Science Department and was active in the Assam Movement in the early 1980s.

Hari Prasad Gorkha Rai was a well-known Indian Nagaland-based Nepali language writer. he was long associated, along with other writers at the time, with two major literary organizations Pashupati Sangh (1929) and Tarun Sangh (1930).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temsüla Ao</span> Indian writer (1945–2022)

Temsüla Ao was an Indian poet, fiction writer, and ethnographer. She was a professor of English at North Eastern Hill University (NEHU) from where she retired in 2010. She served as the director of the North East Zone Cultural Centre between 1992 and 1997 on deputation from NEHU. She was awarded the Padma Shri award for her contribution to literature and education. Her book Laburnum For My Head received the Sahitya Akademi Award for English writing in the short story category. Her works have been translated into Assamese, Bengali, French, German, Hindi, and Kannada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dhiruben Patel</span> Indian writer (1926–2023)

Dhiruben Gordhanbhai Patel was an Indian novelist, playwright and translator.

Anuradha Roy is an Indian novelist, journalist and editor. She has written five novels: An Atlas of Impossible Longing (2008), The Folded Earth (2011), Sleeping on Jupiter (2015), All the Lives We Never Lived (2018), and The Earthspinner (2021).

<i>Laburnum For My Head</i> 2009 short story collection by Temsüla Ao

Laburnum for My Head (2009) is the collection of eight short stories by Indian author Temsüla Ao. The stories are about the lives of people from the vibrant and troubled region of Nagaland in northeast India.

Neidonuo Angami is an Indian social worker and one of the founders of the Naga Mothers' Association, a non governmental organization working for remedying the social problems in Nagaland, India. She is reported to have been selected as one of the 1000 women shortlisted for the Nobel Peace Prize for 2005. She was honored by the Government of India, in 2000, with the fourth highest Indian civilian award of Padma Shri.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kishore Jadav</span> Gujarati author (1938–2018)

Kishore Kalidas Jadav was a novelist, critic, and short story writer from India. He wrote in Gujarati and was primarily responsible for the development of surreal and experimental Gujarati fiction.

Monalisa Changkija is an Indian journalist and poet from Nagaland. She is the founding editor and publisher of the daily newspaper Nagaland Page. She was a member of the Working Group on Women's Empowerment in the Indian National Planning Commission.

The following is a list of articles relating to the Indian state of Nagaland, sorted in alphabetical order.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khrielie-ü Kire</span> Naga physician

Khrielie-ü Kire was an Naga physician and bureaucrat who was the first female physician practicing Western medicine among the Nagas.

References

  1. ↑ "Easterine Kire — Author | The Hindu - Lit For Life". thehindulfl.com. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  2. ↑ "Easterine Kire". Barbican Press . Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  3. ↑ "Easterine Kire Iralu | reviewNE". reviewne.com. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  4. ↑ "Barbican Press | Spirit Nights". barbicanpress.com. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  5. ↑ "Easterine Kire | Zubaan". zubaanbooks.com. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  6. ↑ Subhra Roy (July 2015). "Gender Politics & Discrimination in Post-Colonial Nagaland with Special Reference to Easterine Kire's A Terrible Matriarchy" (PDF). languageinindia.com. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  7. ↑ "Lit for Life: The Hindu Prize for 2015 goes to Easterine Kire". The Hindu. 16 January 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.