Stories, Ideas, Dialogue
Boulder, September 26, 2026: JLF Colorado 2026 concluded on September 23 after two days of literary and cultural programming at Boulder Public Library. Held on September 22 and 23, the 12th edition of the festival brought together writers, artists, historians and thinkers for a wide-ranging programme exploring literature, history, identity, art, memory and lived experience.
The festival’s sessions moved easily between the personal and the historical, offering audiences an opportunity to encounter stories from different cultures and perspectives.
Among the highlights was A Room in Bombay, featuring bestselling novelist and mathematician Manil Suri in conversation with Arsen Kashkashian. Drawing on more than 2,700 letters, Suri reflected on his memoir and his childhood in a single room in a crumbling Bombay apartment. His story opened up wider questions around family, belonging, sexuality and the religious and territorial tensions that shaped the city of his childhood.
Indigenous histories and their continuing impact came into focus during The Knowing: Unhealed Wounds. Award-winning Anishinaabe journalist and writer Tanya Talaga spoke with Natalie Avalos, Assistant Professor of Native American and Indigenous Studies at the University of Colorado. They examined the legacy of residential schools, “Indian hospitals” and asylums, and considered how these histories continue to shape Indigenous communities and subsequent generations.
The relationship between art and difficult histories was explored in Art in the Times of War. Nadine Takvorian, Andrew Fialka and Anderson Carman joined historian and academic Patricia Limerick to discuss the possibilities and responsibilities involved in using graphic narratives to represent violence and conflict. The session drew on Takvorian’s Armaveni, which addresses the Armenian genocide, alongside Fialka and Carman’s Hope Never to See It, which examines guerrilla violence during the American Civil War.
Together, the sessions reflected the breadth of JLF Colorado 2026, moving from intimate recollections of childhood and home to questions of historical memory, cultural identity and the ways art can help us understand the past. Rather than following a single theme, the programme created space for different voices and experiences to sit alongside one another, encouraging audiences to look at familiar histories and contemporary questions from new perspectives.
About JLF USA
In 2026, JLF USA, the international edition of the Jaipur Literature Festival, returns to North Carolina, Seattle, Colorado, New York and Houston, while making its debut in Los Angeles. Across its multi-city programme, JLF USA brings together writers, thinkers, artists, musicians and storytellers for discussions spanning literature, geopolitics, art and culture.
The series is rooted in the spirit of the Jaipur Literature Festival, held annually in the historic Pink City of Jaipur in Rajasthan. In January 2026, the 19th edition of the Jaipur Literature Festival continued its tradition of bringing together an expansive and diverse community of writers and readers.
JLF USA carries that spirit to cities across the world, creating spaces for dialogue between South Asian literary traditions and the cultures and histories of its host regions. Its 2026 programme is presented in association with institutions and cultural partners including the Consulate General of India in Houston, New York and Seattle, Asia Society Texas and New York, Inprint, The National Arts Club, The Center for Fiction, Rothko Chapel, Eternal Gandhi Museum Houston, The Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Boulder Public Library, City of Boulder, Seattle Public Library, Town Hall Seattle, Meredith College, Raleigh, NC State Institute of Emerging Issues, Tim Disney’s Gallery, ASU Zócalo Public Square, Berggruen Institute and UCLA Hammer Museum.
JLF USA currently travels to the US, UK and Europe, as well as other international destinations including Canada, Spain, the Maldives and Australia, connecting the literary traditions of South Asia with audiences around the world.
More information: www.teamworkarts.com
