Writing the Future : Thibault Marthouret at the Drukyul’s Literature and Arts Festival

01 October 2025

Former Villa Swagatam resident Thibault Marthouret, hosted at Rachna Books in Gangtok, participated in the Bhutan Echoes: Drukyul’s Literature and Arts Festival in August 2025, one of Asia’s leading literary and arts initiatives. This year’s edition, held under the theme “The Great Fourth’s Wisdom of Balance: Harmonizing Heritage, Nature, and the Human Spirit,” honors the vision of His Majesty Jigme Singye Wangchuck in sustaining Bhutan’s cultural heritage while guiding modernity and environmental preservation.

At Bhutan Echoes, Marthouret led the workshop “Writing the Future: Poetry of Tomorrow” and joined writer Bhavika Govil for the conversation “Unlocking Creativity: A Conversation on Writing. Reflecting upon his own practice, he urged participants in the workshop to imagine different ways of imagining “tomorrow” through the lens of poetic creativity, while emphasising poetry’s role as a bridge between languages and cultures.

Reflecting on his experience, Thibault shares: “The Bhutanese literary scene struck me with its openness - rooted in ancestral concerns like nature and storytelling, yet engaging with the future, including AI. I was inspired by learning about Bhutan’s history, the tashigomang storytelling tradition, and by meeting remarkable artists and writers, such as painter Tsherin Sherpa, Bhavika Govil, and Marie-Jeanne Urech. Bhutan Echoes offers a vibrant window into a literary world in dialogue with global evolutions, and it was a privilege to take part.”