Book Launch Report
Aishwarya Siingh
BAJMC Sem 3
The launch of Lopamudra Banerjee’s book, How Does It Matter? Portrait of the Artist as a Woman, took place on Tuesday, September 1, 2026, at 6 PM at Cafe I Can Flyy Tea Kafi in Ballygunge, Kolkata. Representing the Amity School of Communication (ASCO), the gathering provided a deeply intellectual and emotionally charged space to celebrate poetry over prose as an essential, moving medium capable of expressing what prose often cannot reach. The event was graced by Chief Guest Moon Moon Sen, former Member of the Lok Sabha and celebrated actress. The evening’s discourse was brilliantly navigated and moderated by arts and events curator Oindrilla Dutt, alongside a panel of distinguished intellectuals, including author, scholar, and women's rights activist Jael Silliman, writer and diplomat Roma Bhattacharjea, and acclaimed film director Sudeshna Roy. Rooted deeply in her cultural origins, Banerjee’s voice resonated powerfully across the room, leaving attendees with the uncanny feeling that each verse held up a mirror to their own inner worlds and lived experiences.
The central narrative of the panel discussion delved directly into the heart of the anthology, a collection of 80 fiercely feminist poems designed to give authentic, unyielding shape to the complex identity of women. The panelists praised Banerjee for her rare ability to distill profound human experiences into just a few visceral, carefully crafted words, leveraging intense and striking female imagery to explore raw themes of despair, systemic discrimination, betrayal, dislocation, and the fragile struggle to preserve sanity. A significant portion of the discourse focused on how societal structures consistently suppress women across all dimensions—emotionally, mentally, and intimately—pointing out how rarely a woman’s genuine desires and agency are acknowledged in her physical or sensual relationships. Through non-linear storytelling influenced by the raw, unbridled intensity of Sylvia Plath and showcased in evocative pieces like The Kali and Dancing in the Rain, Banerjee captures both the emotional weight of 18 years of togetherness and the terrifying sensation of being out of control, alongside the transcendent hope embodied by children dancing amid life’s sudden storms.
Ultimately, the event brought into sharp focus the reality that this collection was created not for commercial gain or mass consumption, but rather for a niche audience—for literary scholars, women's studies enthusiasts, and the starving artist within who continually returns to poetry for personal salvation. The dynamic arc of the poems functions like a prism of light, wherein dark imagery of blackness, thunder, lightning, and rain undergoes a dramatic metamorphosis into the fertile, reborn essence of caustic breath, fresh blood, and renewed vitality. The influence of travel and venturing into unknown places was highlighted as a critical catalyst that expands an author's knowledge without severing ties to the places and values already known. The evening concluded with a shared reverence for the transformative weight of language, leaving no doubt that through Banerjee's courageous writing, even the most isolated and suppressed corners of female existence can find a lasting voice, a place of belonging, and ultimate liberation.
