Poetry in Parks began in January 2024 as a gesture of solidarity with the people of Gaza, when Peter Griffin invited a few friends to gather in a park and read poems by Palestinian writers. The experience was quiet yet profoundly meaningful, gradually evolving into a journey of weaving words into the fabric of public life across parks in Navi Mumbai and Thane every month.
Although Griffin had long preferred online communities, this initiative brought together many of his enduring interests: poetry, urban design, the commons, and the reclaiming of public spaces. Add to that a wistfulness about travelling to Mumbai for literary events, and the abundance of parks across Navi Mumbai, and Poetry in Parks soon felt like an idea waiting to happen. He also drew inspiration from movements like ‘Blank Noise’ and ‘Why Loiter?’, which champion women’s right to access and inhabit public spaces. The meets are intentionally participatory: everyone is encouraged to bring poems to share, making each gathering a meeting of equals in green, public spaces.In this conversation, Griffin will speak about what Poetry in Parks has taught him about community – both online and in person – and the ideas that shaped the initiative. His discussion with Menka Shivdasani will meander through the many shared concerns of old friends: the MMR’s evolving urban landscape, poetry, conservation, accessibility, gender equity, and the memories that bind these themes together.
Peter Griffin is a poet, journalist, writer, and editor based in Navi Mumbai. With over two decades of experience in advertising and journalism, he has contributed to travel writing, voice-overs, and radio hosting; co-curated the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival for six years; co-founded an online recipe community during the pandemic; served on the fiction jury for Literature Live’s 2019 literary awards; and runs Poetry in Parks, a poetry community in New Bombay. He now writes, edits, and consults on communications, while aspiring to grow as an artist.
Though he has lived in Navi Mumbai for most of his life, he only began exploring the city deeply a few years ago, during a sabbatical that outgrew its original boundaries. His professional life unfolded largely in the island city, across ad agencies and media houses. In his teens and early adulthood, he sought out communities across the creek—even after his family moved to Vashi—but since the mid-90s, much of his sense of tribe, purpose, and friendship has emerged online.
Menka Shivdasani is an author, translator, and editor. She has contributed to five poetry collections, most recently ‘The Seven Queens: Sindhi Folktales Retold in English Verse’. She co-translated ‘Freedom and Fissures’ (Sahitya Akademi, 1998), edited ‘If the Roof Leaks, Let it Leak’ (2014), and is editor of The ‘BigBridge Book of Contemporary Indian Poetry’ (2024). She has collaborated extensively with senior Sindhi poet Mohan Gehani, most recently on ‘Love is the Only Finality: Sindhi Dohiras by Sachal Sarmast’ (Sahitya Akademi, 2024). She currently serves as Co-Chair of Asia Pacific Writers and Translators (APWT) and is on the NCPA Library Committee.
Her honours include the Ethos Literary Award (2019) and the inaugural WE Eunice de Souza Award (2020). A co-founder of Poetry Circle Bombay (1986), she has organised 13 poetry festivals for 100 Thousand Poets for Change.
Respondent: Menka Shivdasani (Author, Translator, Editor).
November 29, 2025 | 5.30 pm – 7.30 pm | Designworks | Open to all.
