“Songs of Moonjaw and Renewal”: Talking poetry with Monica Mody

A small band of poetry-lovers gathered at Bookworm on Church Street, Bengaluru for TFA’s first literary event of the year on 17 July 2024.

Poet and author Kala Krishnan chatted with Monica Mody about her poetic process and the persistent sense of seeking that veins her work. Monica, an award-winning poet, scholar and educator who lives in Santa Barbara, read (for the first time in India) from her latest anthology Bright Parallel and also from her earlier Wild Fin.

We snagged a Kodak moment when Monica, who won a TOTO in 2007, posed with Zainab Ummer Farook, a 2024 TOTO winner, capturing TFA across the decades!

Photographs by Mahima Nagaraju.