KATHMANDU: People seated inside Yala Mandala, Patan keenly listened to poems and took part in the discussions on the poems’ theme, structure, content, form, et cetera on June 24, at Nepal Reads — a book discussion held at the artisan village.

Organised in collaboration with the US Embassy’s Book Bus and Quixote’s Cove, different poems from These Fine Lines — a poetry anthology edited by Itisha Giri — were read and discussed.

Participants read the poems at the event, which was followed by discussions on those poems, along with their (participants) personal experiences. Poems such as Lady Long Legs, Family Ghost, Valley, and Foreplay among others were read and discussed on the tone, use of language and development of the poem along with their interpreting them.

“There is a combination of a sad and angry tone in the poem,” Sampanna Shrestha shared of his impression about the poem Family Ghost.

The participants also talked about their experiences. Yukta Bajracharya shared, “Nepali women have chosen to live outside Nepal because there are certain boundaries when you are living here — most women are not allowed to wear mini shorts and can’t stay away from home past 9:00 pm.”

“We are trying to promote the reading culture. There aren’t many people talking about what they read. As there isn’t space for youth discussions, we are trying to bring them together for discussion,” shared Nasala Chitrakar, Programme Co-ordinator for Book Bus.

Yala Mandala, the artisan village aims to promote literature, art and craft in Nepal and provided the venue for the event.