Former British Army soldier and poet Naresh Kangmang Rai to read in Ashford on 22 November

Naresh Kangmang Rai, a Bhojpur-born poet who joined the British Army in 2000 and retired in 2012, will give his twelfth solo poetry recital at Godinton Village Hall, Loudon Way, Ashford, Kent, at 1pm on Sunday 22 November.

The event, organised by Echoes of Parbat, was announced late on 13 November. The recital series, which has previously been staged in 11 places in Nepal, including Ilam, Jhapa, Dharan, Dhankuta, Bhojpur and Kathmandu, now extends to Britain. Rai will read work drawing on Gorkha military history, soldiering, the pain of war and life in migration, with guitar accompaniment from Bir Chandra (B.C.) Rai.

Rai, whose given name is Naresh Mani Rai, has ten published works spanning poetry, short fiction, a novel and history and culture, among them a history of Gorkha soldiers. The organisers list several literary honours, including the Pragya International Award from Nepal's national academy. They have invited Gorkha families, former soldiers, students and the wider public. Entry or ticketing arrangements were not stated in the announcement.

Ashford has an established Nepali community. A borough councillor was chief guest at the Sagarmatha Gurkha/Nepalese Community Ashford Kent's Dashain and Tihar celebration last year, according to the council.

These details come from the organisers' announcement as reported by a UK Nepali news portal. They have not been independently verified, and no response from the organisers has been obtained.