SHILLONG, March 14: The Department of English and Communication of Martin Luther Christian University on Monday organised an interactive seminar with novelist, poet, short story writer and critic, Anjum Hasan.
Thematised on ‘Imagining Ourselves’, the seminar was attended by Vice Chancellor Prof TK Kharbamon, The Shillong Times Editor Patricia Mukhim, faculty members and students of the department.
The seminar also focused on the role and definition of imagination in writing.
“Anjum Hasan spoke on the importance of reading to cultivate and nurture imagination. She stressed on how each book does not stand independent on its own but is in conversation with other books. She spoke on a variety of different types of books and authors and how each has their own methods and processes in telling their stories,” a statement in this regard said.
Born in 1972 in Shillong, Hasan, who is a graduate in Philosophy from North-Eastern Hill University, currently lives in Bangalore.
“Her debut novel Lunatic in my Head (2007) was shortlisted for the Crossword Book Award 2007. Set in Shillong in the early 1990s, it weaves together the stories of its three main characters,” the statement said.
Her short-story collection, Difficult Pleasures (2012), was also shortlisted for The Hindu Literary Prize and the Crossword Book Award. She had also authored Lunatic in my Head, Neti, Neti (as Big Girl Now) and Difficult Pleasures.