Naveen Kishore of Seagull Books speaks to Outlook Editor about publishing and his ways of resisting dominant narratives.
"The things fade, then are no more, save
the river and the drowned who wave his way
The sky is weightless, he will say,
Then time
Then time will descend entire from everything"
-GHASSAN ZAQTAN, Palestinian poet in response to Naveen Kishore who sent him a letter first as part of his attempt to reach out to friends for the annual Seagull Books catalogue (fall 2024-spring 2025) where he would write to 12 individuals “specific text” and would ask them to respond.
“For it is said that children who die young. Are reborn. Almost immediately. As rainbows. I confess this may not be accurate. Or precise. But it is what I have heard.”
-Naveen Kishore to Zaqtan
This is how it began.
Letters from a writer to another writer across time zone and across zones of pain.
Kishore says trust is foremost when it comes to publishing. There is friendship and there is faith that the book will change something in the readers.
Kishore founded Seagull Books in 1982 in Kolkata. He wanted to published serious books about cinema and art and include fiction from across the world.
On the shelves of the bookstore, there are numerous beautiful books that have the most poetic stories. They are about war, love and many things that define us as human.
It is a landmark in Kolkata and perhaps the only independent Indian publisher to own worldwide English-language publishing rights for books by many renowned writer, which include seven Nobel laureates.
Kishore, who is also a poet and a photographer, knows it is a tough road that he has taken but there is comfort in the fact they publish books that could be called “dangerous” because they might make readers understand the world better, empathise and feel.
With publishing becoming more commercial where influencers are being approached to write and to promote books that are very forgettable there is something about a quiet place that can make us more human. There is resistance in the creation of such a space and there is redemption in the fact that the catalogue begins with letters between the publisher and a Palestinian poet. In an age of wars, there can be friendships and those must be kept.
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"The things fade, then are no more, save
the river and the drowned who wave his way
The sky is weightless, he will say,
Then time
Then time will descend entire from everything"
-GHASSAN ZAQTAN, Palestinian poet in response to Naveen Kishore who sent him a letter first as part of his attempt to reach out to friends for the annual Seagull Books catalogue (fall 2024-spring 2025) where he would write to 12 individuals “specific text” and would ask them to respond.
“For it is said that children who die young. Are reborn. Almost immediately. As rainbows. I confess this may not be accurate. Or precise. But it is what I have heard.”
-Naveen Kishore to Zaqtan
This is how it began.
Letters from a writer to another writer across time zone and across zones of pain.
Kishore says trust is foremost when it comes to publishing. There is friendship and there is faith that the book will change something in the readers.
Kishore founded Seagull Books in 1982 in Kolkata. He wanted to published serious books about cinema and art and include fiction from across the world.
On the shelves of the bookstore, there are numerous beautiful books that have the most poetic stories. They are about war, love and many things that define us as human.
It is a landmark in Kolkata and perhaps the only independent Indian publisher to own worldwide English-language publishing rights for books by many renowned writer, which include seven Nobel laureates.
Kishore, who is also a poet and a photographer, knows it is a tough road that he has taken but there is comfort in the fact they publish books that could be called “dangerous” because they might make readers understand the world better, empathise and feel.
With publishing becoming more commercial where influencers are being approached to write and to promote books that are very forgettable there is something about a quiet place that can make us more human. There is resistance in the creation of such a space and there is redemption in the fact that the catalogue begins with letters between the publisher and a Palestinian poet. In an age of wars, there can be friendships and those must be kept.
Follow us:
Website: https://www.outlookindia.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Outlookindia
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/outlookindia/
X: https://twitter.com/Outlookindia
Whatsapp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaNrF3v0AgWLA6OnJH0R
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@OutlookMagazine
Dailymotion: https://www.dailymotion.com/outlookindia
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