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LAHORE: The fourth edition of the three-day Lahore Literary Festival (LLF) will start from Feb 19.

“This year’s three-day, free and open-to-public event will feature some of the most insightful voices from home and abroad in rewarding, thought-provoking discussions on literature and arts,” said Razi Ahmed, founder and chief executive officer of the LLF, in a statement on Saturday.

“Lahore has historically been the firmament of big ideas,” he said.

“The LLF is all about celebrating the intellectual and creative vitality of this city, its cosmopolitan and syncretic past, its storied cultural contributions, and its place in the global literary world today.”

“The LLF 2016 will feature panel talks, book launches, recitals and performances, screenings, art exhibitions,” added Nusrat Jamil, chairperson of the LLF Organising Committee and board member.

“We are very excited about the fourth edition of the festival, and are confident that it will make for an even more rewarding audience experience,” added Ms Jamil.

“Audiences will have more to choose from this year. We will have five parallel sessions happening at any given time, spanning fiction, film, music, architecture and urbanism, poetry, history, travel and more.”

Evening performances will include A.R. Gurney’s Love Letters with Rehana Saigol and Imran Aslam and recitation of selected works of Ghalib and Iqbal by Zia Mohyeddin. The exhibitions will showcase the works of British-Pakistani artist Anwar Jalal Shemza, to coincide with the launch of a new monograph on the late artist, and of legend of the world of art Rasheed Araeen.

“We have a terrific line-up of speakers from Afghanistan and Central Asia in a wide array of talks,” said Ahmed Rashid on behalf of the LLF Advisory Committee.

“We are very pleased to announce that the widely regarded archaeologist and travel writer Nancy Dupree will be at LLF to discuss the remarkable restoration of the Kabul Museum and her other notable endeavors in Afghanistan.”

He said the LLF’s interdisciplinary programme would bring together fresh angles and insights into a wide array of theme spanning over arts and humanities, politics, current affairs, social sciences.

The scheduled speakers at LLF 2016 include Ali Akbar Natiq, Asghar Nadeem Syed, Attiya Dawood, C. M. Naim, Fahmida Riaz, Hamid Ismailov, Haji Noor Deen, Intizar Husain, Javed Majeed, Marion Molteno, Mick Conefrey, Mohsin Hamid, Ned Beauman, Rana Dasgupta, Reza Deghati, Sorayya Khan, Zehra Nigah, and Zukiswa Wanner.

The detailed schedule for the LLF 2016 will be announced days ahead of the event.

The LLF board of governors includes Iqbal Z. Ahmed, Hameed Haroon, Dr Parvez Hasan and Nayyar Ali Dada.

The Advisory Committee includes Muneeza Shamsie, Zareena Saeed, Salima Hashmi, Khaled Ahmed and Mohsin Hamid.

Published in Dawn, January 31st, 2016