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Winner of the 2023 FICCI India Book of the Year award - a powerful, magical indigenous novel from Nagaland, India's foremost writer.
Drawing on ancient tribal tales, Spirit Nights tells of a prophecy fulfilled when a number of villages are plunged into endless darkness. A terrible taboo has been violated in the spirit world. A wise elder feels the village crumble as her people are isolated and frightened. She knows that only through acting with wisdom and courage, and journeying into unknown realms, can the people get the light back.
But who would dare to do that?
Lockdowns, spirit visions, profound darkness - Spirit Nights delivers a unique tale from Nagaland that parallels our lives today. This is an exciting USA debut for Easterine Kire. Spirit Nights also includes informative notes, and an essay about real 'Dark Time Accounts' - tribal stories of periods when the world tumbles into seemingly endless night time.
About the author
Easterine Kire, poet, short story writer and novelist, was born in Kohima, Nagaland, a state in Northeast India. In 1982, she was the first Naga poet in to have her poetry published in English. In 2003, she wrote A Naga Village Remembered, the first Naga novel in English.
Her novel,
Bitter Wormwood was shortlisted for the Hindu Lit for Life prize in 2013 and in the same year, she received the Free Voice Award from Barcelona. In 2016, her novel,
When the River Sleeps was awarded The Hindu Lit for Life prize.
Easterne Kire holds a PhD in English Literature from Poona University. She performs poetry, delivers lectures on culture and literature, and holds writing workshops in schools and colleges.
‘In an extraordinary fury of poems, short stories, histories, novels, and a separate profusion of words and music she calls jazzpoetry, this quietly irrepressible one-woman cultural renaissance has pioneered, nurtured, led and exemplified the modern literary culture of Nagaland, while also establishing herself in the front line of contemporary indigenous literature.’ Vivek Menezes, Scroll
‘Easterine Kire is the keeper of her people's memory, their griot. She is a master of the unadorned language that moves because of the power of its evocative simplicity.' Prof Emeritus Paul Pimomo
Summary
A reworking of a tribal tale from Nagaland. 'An ancient prophecy is fulfilled when darkness envelops a number of villages for days on end.'
