Easterine Kire

Easterine Kire is an Naga poet and author from India who currently lives in northern Norway. The majority of her writings are based in the lived realities of the people in Nagaland in Northeast India. Apart from writing, she also performs Jazz poetry with her band Jazzpoesi.

Early life Easterine Kire was born on 29 March 1959 in Kohima to an Angami Naga family from Kohima Village. She did her schooling in Baptist English School. She went to pursue her undergraduate study in Shillong from North-Eastern Hill University, followed by a course in journalism in Delhi. She received a doctorate in English literature from Savitribai Phule Pune University.

Books

Kire's motivation to write is summed up in her statement, "I felt we needed to create written Naga Literature. We have so much oral narratives but with oral dying out, it's all going to be lost." Majority of her writings are based in the lived realities of the people in Nagaland in north-east India. Apart from bringing a focus on the vibrant Naga culture, Kire's work has also brought out the realities which have changed the lives of Naga women. The novel was republished by Speaking Tiger Books in 2018 as Sky is my Father: A Naga Village Remembered It was republished by Zubaan Books in 2013. This was followed by Mari (2010). It is a novel based on the Japanese invasion of India in 1944 via Nagaland. Her subsequent novels include, Bitter Wormwood (2011) which was shortlisted for The Hindu Literary Prize in 2013, Don't Run, My Love (2017), and Walking the Roadless Road: Exploring the Tribes of Nagaland (2019).

Her latest book "Spirit Nights" was published in 2022. She has also written children's books, articles and essays. Her first children's book in English was published in 2011. Kire has also translated 200 oral poems from her native language.

Poetry Kire published her first book of poetry in 1982 titled Kelhoukevira, roughly translated as 'the place of a better life.' Many of the poems in the book portal the violence in Nagaland at the time. Naga academic Theyiesinuo Keditsu notes, "[The book] is an outcome of the poet's gendered positioning in the discursive Naga universe," where women are delegated to write poetry rather factual nonfiction account of people's situation. However, Kire's embracing of this form of literary work also allows her to escape state censorship. Kelhoukevira was the first book of Naga poetry published in English.

In December 2024, Kire published a collection of poetry titled, Freerain. The collection comprised 60 poems, including previously published works of hers.

Kire also performs Jazz poetry with her band Jazzpoesi in Norway.

In 2018 Easterine Kire poem "Son of the Thundercloud" has been awarded Bal Sahitya Puraskar by Sahitya Academy.

In 2024 her novel Spirit Nights'' won Sahitya Academy Award in 2024.

"A Terrible Matriarchy" was selected to be translated into UN languages. Furthermore, the books "A Terrible Matriarchy", "Mari", "Forest Song", "Naga Folktales Retold" and "A Naga Village Remembered" have been translated into German.