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{{Short description|Indian-Norwegian poet and author}}
{{More citations needed|date=May 2026}}
{{Family name hatnote|[[Kire (Surname)#Naga family name|Kire]]|lang=Angami}}
{{EngvarB|date=July 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = Easterine Kire
| image =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1959|03|29}}
| birth_place = [[Kohima]], [[Nagaland|Nagaland (Union Territory)]] ''{{small|(Now Kohima, [[Nagaland]], India)}}''
| pseudonym =
| occupation = {{hlist|Author|poet}}
| alma_mater = [[North-Eastern Hill University]]
| period = 1982–present
| genre = {{hlist|[[Fiction]]|[[magic realism|magical realism]]}}
| subject =
| movement =
| spouse = Kaka D. Iralu<br/>(died 2020)
| children = 3
| relatives =
| website =
| signature =
}}

'''Easterine Kire''' is an [[Naga people|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.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}} She went to pursue her undergraduate study in [[Shillong]] from [[North-Eastern Hill University]],<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Karmakar |first=Goutam |date=2022-10-02 |title=Revisiting the Ideological Stance of Naga People: An Interview with Easterine Kire |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02759527.2021.1886408 |journal=South Asian Review |language=en |volume=43 |issue=3-4 |pages=366–372 |doi=10.1080/02759527.2021.1886408 |issn=0275-9527|url-access=subscription }}</ref> followed by a course in journalism in [[Delhi]].{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}} She received a doctorate in English literature from [[Savitribai Phule Pune University]].<ref name=":1">{{cite web |title=Easterine Kire |url=https://barbicanpress.com/contributor/easterine-kire/ |access-date=18 May 2020 |website=[[Barbican Press]]}}</ref>

== 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."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Arora |first=Kim |date=9 January 2012 |title='Big Indian publishing houses don't think the northeast will sell' |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/interviews/big-indian-publishing-houses-dont-think-the-northeast-will-sell/articleshow/11415634.cms |access-date=9 June 2025 |work=[[The Times of India]] |issn=0971-8257}}</ref> Majority of her writings are based in the lived realities of the people in [[Nagaland]] in north-east India.<ref name="thehindulfl">{{cite web |title=Easterine Kire — Author {{pipe}} The Hindu - Lit For Life |url=http://www.thehindulfl.com/the-hindu-prize-2016-shortlist/easterine-kire-author |accessdate=16 October 2016 |publisher=thehindulfl.com}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":0" />

In 2003, she wrote the first Naga novel in English, entitled, ''A Naga Village Remembered'' published then by [[Ura Academy]].''<ref name=":0" />'' It documents the cultural and social history of the [[Angami Naga]] community living in [[Khonoma]] through the British invasion of the territory, advent of [[Christianity in Nagaland|Christianity]], and subsequent modernity. Thereby, the novel spans from 1832 to 1900.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mandal |first=Sanatan |last2=Singh |first2=Smriti |date=2022 |title=Asserting Naga cultural identity and challenging colonialism in Easterine Kire’s Sky is My Father: A Naga Village Remembered |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/11771801221088603 |journal=AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples |language=en |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=203–209 |doi=10.1177/11771801221088603 |issn=1177-1801|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The novel was republished by [[Speaking Tiger Books]] in 2018 as ''Sky is my Father: A Naga Village Remembered<ref name=":0" />'' gaining it wider readership.

Her second novel was ''A Terrible Matriarchy'' published in 2007. It highlights the internal and social strife that grips Nagaland as a state in India.<ref>{{cite web |author=Subhra Roy |date=July 2015 |title=Gender Politics & Discrimination in Post-Colonial Nagaland with Special Reference to Easterine Kire's A Terrible Matriarchy |url=http://www.languageinindia.com/july2015/subhragenderpoliticsdiscrimination.pdf |access-date=31 March 2023 |website=languageinindia.com}}</ref> 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.<ref>Arnapal, Maisnam. 2023. “Gender, Indigeneity, and History: The Battle of Kohima in Easterine Kire’s Mari” in ''Keeper of Stories: Critical Readings of Easterine Kire’s Novels'' edited by VeioPou. Tromsø: The Highlander Books. 147-157.</ref> 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.<ref name="Barbican Press">{{cite web|url=https://barbicanpress.com/book/spirit-nights/|publisher=barbicanpress.com|title=Barbican Press {{pipe}} Spirit Nights|accessdate=24 May 2023}}</ref> 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.<ref name="zubaanbooks">{{cite web|url=http://zubaanbooks.com/tag/easterine-kire/|publisher=zubaanbooks.com|title=Easterine Kire {{pipe}} Zubaan|date=12 January 2012 |accessdate=16 October 2016}}</ref>

== 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 language|English]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Keditsu |first=Theyiesinuo |date=2023 |title=Naga Writings in English – Coming into One’s Own |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02759527.2022.2152966 |journal=South Asian Review |language=en |volume=44 |issue=3-4 |pages=258–266 |doi=10.1080/02759527.2022.2152966 |issn=0275-9527|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

In December 2024, Kire published a collection of poetry titled, ''Freerain.'' The collection comprised 60 poems, including previously published works of hers.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Freerain |url=https://www.penguin.co.in/book/freerain/ |access-date=2025-10-30 |website=Penguin Random House India |language=en-US}}</ref>

Kire also performs [[Jazz poetry]] with her band Jazzpoesi in Norway.<ref name=":1" />

== Publishing ==
Kire is a founder member of [[Barkweaver Publications]] which publishes folk tales, original research, and life stories of the Naga people.<ref name=":1" />

== Awards and recognitions ==
In 2011 Easterine Kire was awarded the Governor's Medal for excellence in Naga literature.

In 2013 Kire was awarded the ‘Free Word' prize by Catalan PEN, Barcelona.<ref name=":0" />

In 2015 her novel ''When the River Sleeps'' was awarded [[The Hindu Literary Prize]].<ref name="Hindu Literary Prize">{{Cite news |date=16 January 2016 |title=Lit for Life: The Hindu Prize for 2015 goes to Easterine Kire |url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/lit-for-life/Lit-for-Life-The-Hindu-Prize-for-2015-goes-to-Easterine-Kire/article14003138.ece |website=The Hindu}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Datta |first=Sudipta |date=2024-12-24 |title=The Hindu On Books newsletter: Easterine Kire wins Sahitya Akademi award, Kiran Desai’s new novel and more |url=https://www.thehindu.com/books/the-hindu-on-books-newsletter-easterine-kire-wins-sahitya-akademi-award-kiran-desais-new-novel-and-more/article69021486.ece |access-date=2025-06-08 |work=The Hindu |language=en-IN |issn=0971-751X}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=PTI |date=2024-12-20 |title=Naga writer Easterine Kire’s “Spirit Nights” wins Sahitya Akademi Award 2024 in English language |url=https://nagalandtribune.in/naga-writer-easterine-kires-spirit-nights-wins-sahitya-akademi-award-2024-in-english-language/ |access-date=2025-06-08 |website=Nagaland Tribune |language=en-US}}</ref>

"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 language|German]].

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Sister project links |d=Q28007054 |wikt=no |commons=Easterine Kire |b=no |n=no |q=Easterine Kire |s=no |v=no |species=no |display=Easterine Kire}}
{{Sahitya Akademi Award for English}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kire, Easterine}}
[[Category:1959 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Savitribai Phule Pune University alumni]]
[[Category:People from Kohima]]
[[Category:Naga people]]

Easterine Kire - Revision history

Startupoffices at 04:44, 6 May 2026