JLF North Carolina 2026: Tharoor, Poetry and Bollywood Zumba

The Poetic Imagination brought together Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Vijay Seshadri, North Carolina Poet Laureate Jaki Shelton Green and former North Carolina Poet Laureate Joseph Bathanti. Neurologist and author Pria Anand joined Sanjoy K. Roy for The Mind Electric, which examined consciousness, memory, belief and selfhood. The American Experiment paired musician, podcaster and author Bob Crawford with Axios reporter Zachery Eanes on the making of the American republic and the contested histories that still shape its story.

Food, Music and a Bollywood Twist

Not every session was academic. In Food, Memory and Culture, James Beard Award-winning chef Vishwesh "Vish" Bhatt and Raleigh chef and restaurateur Cheetie Kumar spoke with WUNC host Jeff Tiberii. They explored food as a way of connecting memory, identity, tradition and diaspora.

Live musical performances, a fiction-writing workshop and a Zumba-meets-Bollywood workshop rounded out the schedule. An evening gathering at Raleigh Union Station brought participants and audiences together through music, food and community. For Bolly Orbit readers, the dance workshop shows how Bollywood's rhythm has become a familiar shorthand for Indian culture abroad. Here it sat comfortably next to poetry and political debate.

Why It Matters

JLF North Carolina is part of JLF USA, the multi-city international extension of the Jaipur Literature Festival. Its 2026 programme continues with editions in Los Angeles, Seattle, Boulder, Toronto, New York City and Houston. Now in its third year in Raleigh, the festival continues to strengthen its presence in the city's cultural landscape. Its format pairs local Triangle voices with international names, which gives a touring festival local roots rather than making it a one-off import. Teamwork Arts says it produces over 33 festivals in 45 cities and 19 countries every year.

In the Organisers' Words

Sejal Mehta, Executive Director, JLF North Carolina, said: "For three days, Raleigh was a caravan of stories and a feast of ideas - Southern voices and South Asian voices on the same stage and pure joy for everyone who came together around conversation and literature. Thank you to everyone who made the journey with us."

Sanjoy K. Roy, Managing Director, Teamwork Arts Pvt Ltd, said: "JLF has always believed in the power of conversation to bring people, ideas and cultures together. JLF North Carolina reflects that spirit, bringing writers and thinkers from across the United States, India and beyond into conversation with the vibrant literary and cultural community of the Triangle. We are delighted to see the festival continue to grow in Raleigh and look forward to building on this journey."