Member since: 2023
Category:
Literature
About the Creative City:
Kozhikhode is home to more than 70 publishing houses, which bring out 400 to 500 books a year, and 545 libraries, which account for tens of thousands of members. Literature and reading are deeply embedded in the daily lives of its inhabitants. The city is committed to promoting its writers: the P.A. Lalitha Award, the S.K. Pottekkatt Literature Award and the Mathrubhumi Literary Award are all ceremonies that highlight local talent and encourage creative innovation. An array of festivals is also organized all year round on literary themes. Among them, the 40-day Beypore Art, Craft, Tourism, and Literature Festival, which commemorates the birth of the famous local author Vaikom Muhammad Basheer, and the Kerala Literature Festival, one of the country's biggest literary festivals, shine the spotlight on artists and book professionals and promote the dissemination of literary works.
Kozhikode is also undertaking several initiatives to extend the role of literature in urban development and to strengthen citizen involvement. SecondPen offers representatives of the medical profession the chance to develop their writing skills by supporting the publication of their short stories. The PuKaSa association, made up of local artists, organizes literary events open to all, including exhibitions, public readings and poetry recitals. These citizen-led projects encourage the population to get involved in literary life and help to ensure that as many people as possible have access to culture.
The Creative City is also committed to promoting the inclusion of the most vulnerable through literature. Alongside other institutions, such as the Gender Museum and the Gender Library, which offer literary workshops to raise awareness of gender equality issues, and the Abussabah Library, which has a well-stocked section of books in Braille, Kozhikode endeavours to ensure that everyone can benefit from reading and literature.
Added Value:
As a Creative City of Literature, Kozhikode is dedicated to:
- Working actively to promote inclusiveness, by ensuring that everyone has access to the city's cultural life and literary activities;
- Developing sustainable, socially responsible infrastructure to support the local literary industry;
- Safeguarding the city's literary heritage, notably the heritage of ethnic and cultural minorities; and
- Strengthening international and national cultural partnerships to encourage the development of the literature sector.