Hey folks! This is an early heads-up that the 4th biennial Kriti festival is tentatively scheduled for Fall 2011. We'll be doing an initial planning meeting this summer, just to select our Guest(s) of Honor, since they often get booked up far in advance, and to start prepping for venue and fundraising. It'd be great if any folks interested in helping to organize the festival can join us for that. We ESPECIALLY need help with PR and fundraising, always, but anyone interested in desi arts and literature is welcome -- readers, writers, academics, etc. The festival will maintain its primary focus on literature, but we hope to continue to have a strong presentation of other arts: film, drama, dance, visual art, etc. We're also planning to bring back our reading series in 2010-2011, so that'll be part of the summer planning too.
Planning meetings for our Chicago activities (aside from the ongoing book club, which has its own list) get scheduled on the Kriti festival mailing list (not the main DesiLit-Chicago list), so if you're not on the list already, please join that as soon as you get a chance: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/desilit-kriti/
I've recently moved to Oak Park, so at least some of the meetings will probably happen at my house there, as well as at UIC, where I teach. The house is easily accessible via the Green line, as well as being 15 min. from downtown via 290 for drivers. The main advantage to meetings at my house is that I cook a Sri Lankan rice and curry dinner for the group. :-) We find that planning goes better with food.
For more info on past Kriti festivals, please visit our website: http://www.desilit.org/kriti.php
Mary Ann,
By Oak Park I am assuming you mean “The Oak Park” (Chicago)area that has many original buildings by Frank Lloyd Wright, one of the great architects of the last century. Unity Temple, Robie House, his home/studio, etc.
I hope you have time to get around and see these buildings as part of a consciousness raising experience. You should be able to get information on the web about locations.