Fifth edition of Lahore Literary Festival to begin from Feb 24

Karachi (Pakistan) Feb. 14 (ANI): The fifth edition of the much-awaited 'Lahore Literary Festival (LLF)' will commence on February 24 at the Alhamra Art Centre, Mall Road. The three-day cultural event will explore contemporary writing, feature artists, writers and cultural commentators from Pakistan and different parts of the world. LLF founder and CEO Razi Ahmed said, "This year's edition will bring to prominence Lahore's rich and storied cultural traditions and its openness and curiosity for engagement with the wider world to provide audiences with a stimulating array of ideas and intellectual inquiry," reports the Express Tribune. Stating that the LLF is all about celebrating the intellectual and creative vitality, Ahmed said, "Its cosmopolitan and syncretic past, its storied cultural contributions and its place in the global literary world today." LLF debuted in 2013 and usually it takes place at the last weekend of February. But in 2016, LLF went global, debuting in New York in May as part of a three-year association with Asia Society, followed by its London debut at the British Museum in October. The scheduled speakers at this edition of the event include - celebrated Indonesian fiction writer Eka Kurniawan, South African playwright and novelist Gillian Slovo, modern South Asian historian Dr Pippa Virdee, Pakistani-English poet Adrian A. Husain, Punjabi scholar Dr Ebad Nabeel Shad, Punjabi poet Khaqan Haider and Lebanese writer Hanan al-Shaykh. (ANI)