Schedule

Kriti Schedule

Addresses:  The main event locations are in buildings very close to each other; SSB is half a block away, and JST is a few blocks away. All venues are wheelchair-accessible.

  • AARCC (Asian American Resource and Cultural Center), 101 Taft Hall, 826 S. Halsted Street
  • Daley Library, 801 S. Morgan Street
  • Institute for the Humanities, 701 South Morgan, Lower Level / Stevenson Hall
  • James Stukel Towers Event Space, 718 W. Rochford Street
  • SSB: Student Services Building, 1200 West Harrison Street
  • University Hall, 601 S. Morgan Street
  • Ward Gallery, 2nd floor, Student Center East, 750 S. Halsted Street 

    Travel Directions, Maps and Parking (East Side of Campus):

    https://www.uic.edu/ucat/catalog/pdf/416-419_CampusMaps_Direx_Calendar.pdf

     


    Wednesday, September 24th (pre-festival event):

    7:00 – 8:30 p.m. Guild Complex reading, “I Come to Your Country, Name Me,” a creative exploration of expatriation and migration in the Asian diaspora, co-sponsored by the Kriti Festival. Rachel DeWoskin will read from her life as the megastar of a Chinese soap opera in Beijing, then read from her new book based in Shanghai. Mary Anne Mohanraj, in her memoir, discusses bisexuality, taboos and going home to a discontented Sri Lanka which is no longer home. Deepak’s writing is grounded in Abu Dhabi where he grew up as the son of Indian expatriates, but home has been America for more than a decade. All three readers live and work in Chicago. Curated by Dipika Mukherjee. School of the Art Institute, LeRoy Neiman Center, 37 S. Wabash Ave., 1st floor, Chicago, IL. This event is free and open to the public.

     

    Thursday, September 25th:

    4:00 – 6:00:  Opening reception, photographic diasporic history art exhibit, and rapid-fire reading, in collaboration with SAAPRI, the Asian American Resource and Cultural Center, Campus Programs, and UIC’s students, faculty and staff. (Ward Gallery, Student Center East, 2nd floor, 750 S. Halsted St.) This event is free and open to the public. Speakers include featured photographer Preston Merchant. Readers: Fatimah Asghar, Sonali Dev, Anjali Mitter Duva, Syed Afzal Haider, Soniah Kamal, Parul Kaushik, Mina Khan, Neha Misra, Mary Anne Mohanraj, Rajdeep Paulus, Shakuntala Rajagopal, Phiroozeh Romer, Ankur Thakkar, Deepak Unnikrishnan, Vidhu Aggarwal, and Bishakh Som.

     

    Friday, September 26th

     

    During the festival: “Scrolling Texts” is a participatory project where Swati Khurana will transcribe saved text messages of attendees onto scrolls, tied with thread.

    About the project:  (http://swatikhurana.tumblr.com/)

    About the artist:  www.swatikhurana,com

     

     

    Friday 10:00 – 10:50

    Fiction Workshop: Institute for the Humanities, open room

    No experience necessary! Come try some fun writing exercises with the guidance of our visiting writers; unlock your creativity! Please arrive on time – we will start promptly.

    (Phiroozeh Romer)

     

    Readings: Institute for the Humanities, closed room

    Swati Khurana, Shikha Malaviya

     

    Film Screenings

    “The Queen of My Dreams,” by Fawzia Mirza (3 min)

    “Yes I Am (American),” music video by Malini D. Sur (6 min)

    “Coin Toss,” by Satya Kharkar (97 min)

     

    Q&A with Editor Diana Pho: Daley Library, Room 1-470

    Pho answers every question you’ve ever had about book editors and publishers — or as many as she can fit into an hour. An informal discussion with Diana Pho.

     

    Friday 11:00 – 11:50

    Contemporary South Asian Literature in the World: Daley Library, Room 1-470

    How does South Asian writing shape the way in which South Asians are regarded by the world? Does it facilitate the stereotyping of individuals? Does it open up new concepts to readers? How are local South Asian and diaspora writers perceived by international (especially Western) readers? (Sonali Dev, Preston Merchant (m.), Rajdeep Paulus)

     

    Poetry Workshop: Institute for the Humanities, open room

    No experience necessary! Come try some fun writing exercises with the guidance of our visiting writers; unlock your creativity! Please arrive on time – we will start promptly.

    (Shikha Malaviya)

     

    Readings: Institute for the Humanities, closed room

    Parul Kaushik, Mina Khan

     

    Friday 12 – 12:50

    Paths to Publication (brown bag lunch): Daley Library, Room 1-470

    What are today’s alternatives to “traditional” publishing, and how do you decide if one of them is good fit for you? The publishing industry has undergone, and continues to undergo, massive and rapid change. The array of publishing options now runs the gamut from traditional publishing to self-publishing, each with its own characteristics. What is happening in the middle of the spectrum? How is a writer to decide what path to follow? What are the relative pros and cons, and what are the questions to ask oneself in order to ensure a positive publishing experience?  This panel will address small press publishing, self-publishing, crowdfunding, social media, and more. As it occurs over lunchtime, please feel free to bring a brown bag lunch. (Anjali Mitter Duva, Mary Anne Mohanraj (m.), Rajdeep Paulus, Diana Pho)

     

    Nura Maznavi @ AARCC (brown bag lunch). 101 Taft Hall

    Join the Asian American Resource and Cultural Center for “Love in Islam: A discussion of “Love, InshAllah: The Secret Love Lives of American Muslim Women” with guest speaker, editor and writer, Nura Maznavi. Lunchbox is a casual discussion series where participants get to learn and engage with a topic related to the Asian American community.  Lunch is provided, but is served on a first-come, first-served basis- no RSVPs will be taken.

     

    Academic Papers (20 min each) – moderator, J. Daniel Elam

    1. From Page to Screen: Chetan Bhagat, Three Idiots and New Cultural Authorship in India: Chetan Bhagat has become a best-selling author and emblem of middle-class youth culture in India and abroad, evident in the numerous screen adaptations of his work including the 2008 box-office hit Three Idiots. However, the adaptation of Bhagat’s work raises complex questions about the interface between popular literature, cinema and authorship in a globalized India. I examine these complex dynamics by looking at how the literary author, as consumer brand phenomenon, is both appropriated and obstructed in the process of film translation. Using Three Idiots as an example, I hope to shed light on the new relationships between political economy and cultural products in India. (Dina Khdair, De Paul University)
    2. Middlebrow Mahatma: Dhan Gopal Mukerji and American Anticolonialism: Dhan Gopal Mukerji (1890-1936) was the first successful Indian American writer, as well as one of the first Indian authors to take seriously the possibilities of writing in English. His books for children were bestsellers and award-winners. He was a popular public intellectual, advocating Indian independence, interracial dialogue, and greater awareness of Indian philosophy. In addition to being the first successful Indian-American writer, as well as one of the first Indian writers to take seriously the task of writing in English, Mukerji was also one of the first “literary writers” to take seriously book clubs as a viable and necessary form of popular pedagogy. (J. Daniel Elam, Northwestern)

     

    Friday 1:00 – 1:50

    MFA / Ph.D. Programs in Writing: Daley Library, Room 1-470

    What are the advantages and disadvantages of enrolling in an graduate program in writing? What about full-time vs. part time? How about low-residency programs (where you work from home and only go away for two weeks of the year)? What will I learn, and where should I go? Or will it just be a waste of time I should spend writing? Panelists who have been there talk about MFA and Ph.D. programs they have known. (Parul Kaushik, Ankur Thakkar (m.), Shailen Mishra, Soniah Kamal, Swati Khurana)

     

    Pretending We’re All Middle Class: Institute for the Humanities, open room

    Authors like Hanif Kurieshi and Monica Ali deal with middle class and working class English life from an immigrant perspective, while Jhumpa Lahiri’s characters live in a financially comfortable, destined-for-the-professional world. How visible are class issues in South Asian literature? Are comfortable middle-class stories more likely to be published (and celebrated)? Do immigrant upper-middle class readers become uncomfortable when asked to admit the existence of working-class South Asians? (Samina Hadi-Tabassum, Preston Merchant, Deepak Unnikrishnan (m.))

     

    Academic Papers (20 min each)

    1. South Asian Diasporic Fiction: Project of Empire and Consolidation of the American Nation-State (Roksana Badruddoja, Manhattan College)
    2. “’Wherefore does the earth quake?’ Shared Narrative Strategies in the Buddhist Communities of Andhra Pradesh and Sri Lanka” Through an examination of sculpture from Andhra Pradesh alongside literary sources from Sri Lanka, such as the Mahavamsa, this paper reconsiders the artistic interaction between these two regions during the first half of the first millennium of the Common Era.  Not only do specific sculptures reveal significant artistic exchange between these regions, but a broader view of the material and textual evidence also suggests that the Buddhist communities of Andhra and Sri Lanka — both of which were located far from the main sites associated with the life of the Buddha — employed interrelated strategies to construct legitimate but distinctly local Buddhist homelands. (Catherine Becker, UIC)

     

    Friday 2:00 – 2:50

    Q&A with Editor Anjali Singh: Daley Library, Room 1-470

    Singh answers every question you’ve ever had about book editors and publishers — or as many as she can fit into an hour. An informal discussion with Anjali Singh

     

    Writing and Arts Activism: Institute for the Humanities, open room

    Writers discuss the intersection between art and activism; how can we use our work to support / challenge society’s assumptions and strictures? What pitfalls stand in the way of the artist-activist? What strategies can we use to make our activism more effective?

    (Shikha Malaviya, Fawzia Mirza (m.), Anu Singh Chaudhary, Meeta Kaur, Diana Pho)

     

    Academic Papers (20 min each) – moderator, Catherine Becker

    1. How to Translate an Indian Novel in Seven Easy Steps: A practical talk for writers who translate or don’t or would like to, we’ll discuss the craft and stakes of literary translation, particularly in the context of South Asian literature translated into English. Who is allowed to translate? How do you find an author and then publish? Is your audience in India, the US, or elsewhere—and do you have to choose? What effects might your choice of audience have on your choice of English idiom and how you translate? (Jason Grunebaum, The University of Chicago)

     

    1. Linking Language Study with Personal Partition Narratives: A case study for writers, language teachers, and oral historians on how to connect language study to better understand the experiences of people who experiences Partition. How can do survivors discuss personal and historical trauma in English vs. their native languages?  Is there a difference in tone, emotional distance, and the ability to recover memories?  In this informal presentation, I would share the process of interviewing, reflections by participants and interviewers, excerpts from the interviews, and suggest how other language teachers could implement these methodologies to connect language students with the lived histories within their communities. (Seema Khurana, Yale University)

     

    Readings: Institute for the Humanities, closed room

    Fatimah Asghar, Anu Singh Choudhary

     

    Friday 3:00 – 3:50

    Memoir & Essay: Telling True Stories: Institute for the Humanities, open room

    To what extent are we willing to expose ourselves? Do we have the right to expose the lives of our family and friends? Is the need to tell a true story, to be honest, more important than the need to consider the feelings of others? And what happens when you’re not sure you’re remembering the story right to begin with? How much freedom do you have to change the details and still call it nonfiction? Writers discuss the challenges of writing different types of nonfiction.

    (Soniah Kamal, Lopa Banerjee (m.), Fawzia Mirza, Preston Merchant)

     

    Writing and Interdisciplinary Artistic Practice: Daley Library, Room 1-470

    How do other creative arts inform our writing practices? How do the brush, the camera, performance and visual art connect with the texts these interdisciplinary artists write? Are projects in different media distinct, or do they grow out of each other?  Through different disciplines, how do writers engage with mindfulness, mash-up culture, folk arts, and personal memory?

    (Vidhu Aggarwal (m.), Fatimah Asghar, Anu Singh Chaudhary, Swati Khurana, Neha Misra)

     

    Readings: Institute for the Humanities, closed room

    Sonali Dev, Tanaz Bhathena

     

    Friday 4:00 – 4:50

    South Asian Comedians and Comedy Writing: Daley Library, Room 1-470

    With the increasing presence of South Asian comedians in mainstream media, many young people are venturing into the comedy field as a life profession. South Asian comedians are not only funny but appeal to a wider audience and are not stuck in the “ethnic comedy” bracket. Yet do comedians like Mindy Kaling and Aziz Ansari categorize themselves as “South Asian comedians” or “comedians”? Do others make fun of the South Asian community for the sake of laughter? What is that slippery slope between making comedy out of being South Asian versus making comedy of South Asians? (Samina Hadi-Tabassum (m.), Fawzia Mirza, Prateek Srivastava)

     

    Dirty Laundry: Institute for the Humanities, open room

    There is a clear market in the West for a certain kind of expose/pathos story from South Asia: child prostitutes, wife beating, widows in Brindhavan, untouchables, street kids, etc. When does exposing an evil move over into exploitation? What responsibilities does the writer have (if any)?

    (Tanaz Bhathena, Nayomi Munaweera (m.), Anjali Mitter Duva, Soniah Kamal)

     

    Readings: Institute for the Humanities, closed room

    Vidhu Aggarwal, Ankur Thakkar

     

    Poetry Workshop for Kids Ages 8-16

    Based on Vedic hermeneutics / Mimamsa theory

    (Divya Rajan)

     

    Friday 5:00 – 5:20

    Performance: Prateek Srivastava, Comedian (20 min): Daley Library, Room 1-470

     

    Reading: Institute for the Humanities, closed room

    Lopa Banerjee

     

    Reading: Institute for the Humanities, open room

    Shailen Mishra

     

    Friday 5:30 – 6:30

    Guest of Honor Manil Suri Reading and Autographing: Daley Library, Room 1-470

     

    6:30 – 8:00: Dinner break

    6:30: Guest of Honor Dinner (Including: Manil Suri, Anjali Singh, Anna Ghosh, Nura Maznavi, Mary Anne Mohanraj)

     

    8:00 – 9:30

    Play: “Me, My Mom, and Sharmila”

    Featuring actor Fawzia Mirza, followed by Q&A with actor and director

    James Stukel Towers Event Space, 718 W. Rochford Street

     

    9:30 – 11:00

    Open mic hosted by UIC student Ulupi Bodiwala

    James Stukel Towers Event Space, 718 W. Rochford Street

     

     

    Saturday, September 27th:

     

    Saturday 9:00 – 9:50

    Fiction Workshop: Institute for the Humanities, open room

    No experience necessary! Come try some fun writing exercises with the guidance of our visiting writers; unlock your creativity! Please arrive on time – we will start promptly.

    (Shailen Mishra)

     

    Write a Ghazal Poetry Workshop: Institute for the Humanities, closed room

    No experience necessary! Come try some fun writing exercises with the guidance of our visiting writers; unlock your creativity! Please arrive on time – we will start promptly.

    (Ashini J. Desai)

     

    Q&A with Literary Agent Anna Ghosh: Daley Library, Room 1-470

    Ghosh answers every question you’ve ever had about literary agents — or as many as she can fit into an hour. An informal discussion with Anna Ghosh

     

    Saturday 10 – 10:50

    Queer Issues in South Asian Literature: Daley Library, Room 1-470

    Authors and readers consider the role of GLBT characters and queer issues in South Asian literature, and discuss these stories’ reception in the South Asian community. Do we need an explicitly queer space? What opportunities are there for publication / presentation? Is there danger of being typecast? Has queerness become more acceptable now? (Manil Suri, Fawzia Mirza, Mary Anne Mohanraj (m.))

     

    Blowing Your Own Horn: Marketing Yourself as a Writer: Institute for the Humanities, open room

    With so many new writers emerging, it can be difficult setting yourself apart from the crowd. Writers discuss various methods for marketing themselves and their work, from setting up a web page to hiring publicists and beyond. (Anjali Mitter Duva (m.), Gotham Mamik)

     

    Bombay Jam (dance class): SSB, 1200 West Harrison Street

    Give your body and spirit a treat Bollywood ish-tyle. In this easy-to-follow dance session, you will learn  some very basic (and highly filmi) moves then rock out to new favorites, old hits, as well as east-west fusion tracks (you don’t want tof miss Lady Gaga bhangra-style). (Phiroozeh Romer)

     

    Readings: Institute for the Humanities, closed room

    Samina Hadi-Tabassum / Nura Maznavi

     

    Saturday 11:00 – 11:50

    Crossing Genre Boundaries: Daley Library, Room 1-470

    We’ve all seen the epic South Asian family novel, a tale of marriage and politics and history and social conflict. What other kinds of S. Asian fiction is out there? Who are our science fiction and fantasy writers, our mystery, spy novel, romance, and political thriller authors? Writers discuss the challenges of breaking out of the ‘literary’ ghetto as an ethnic writer, and recommend favorite work in other genres. (Vidhu Aggarwal, Sonali Dev, Phiroozeh Romer, Mina Khan, Diana Pho (m.))

     

    Readings: Institute for the Humanities, closed room

    Nayomi Munaweera / Syed Afzal Haider

     

    Film Screenings: SSB, 1200 West Harrison Street

    “The Queen of My Dreams,” by Fawzia Mirza (3 min)

    “Yes I Am (American),” music video by Malini D. Sur (6 min)

    “Coin Toss,” by Satya Kharkar (97 min)

     

    Saturday 11:30 – 1:00

    Guest of Honor Luncheon (Including: Manil Suri, Anjali Singh, Anna Ghosh, Nura Maznavi, Mary Anne Mohanraj)

     

    Saturday 12:00 – 12:50

    Vocal performance and reading: Daley Library, Room 1-470

    (Tara Swaminathan / Anjali Mitter Duva) (20 min each)

     

    Q&A with Editor Diana Pho: Institute for the Humanities, open room

    Pho answers every question you’ve ever had about book editors and publishers — or as many as she can fit into an hour. An informal discussion with Diana Pho.

     

    Readings: Institute for the Humanities, closed room

    Neha Misra, Vivek Sharma

     

    Saturday 1:00 – 2:00

    Manil Suri Guest of Honor Speech and Autographing: SSB, 1200 West Harrison Street

     

    Saturday 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.

    Children’s Programming: SSB, 1200 West Harrison Street

    Arts and crafts, face painting, creative writing for children, and story reading! Note: Children 7 and over may be dropped off (with signed waiver and contact info); younger children must have an adult accompanying

     

    2:00 – face painting / writing class

    2:30 – face painting / coloring / craft project

    3:00 – face painting / story-reading

    3:30 – coloring / craft project

     

    Saturday 2:00 – 2:50 p.m.

    Desi Romance Literature: Daley Library, Room 1-470

    Possible areas we’ll explore include the romantic tradition of Bollywood, the romance genre and family dynamics, the feminism of the Romance genre (stories by women of women for women), Happily Ever Afters and genre structure, interracial romance, sex, sensuality, taboos as conflict, historical romance…

    (Sonali Dev, Nura Maznavi (m.), Mina Khan)

     

    Q&A with Literary Agent Anna Ghosh: Institute for the Humanities, open room

    Ghosh answers every question you’ve ever had about literary agents — or as many as she can fit into an hour. An informal discussion with Anna Ghosh

     

    Readings: Institute for the Humanities, closed room

    Mary Anne Mohanraj / Rajdeep Paulus

     

    Saturday 3:00 – 3:50 p.m.

    I Don’t Want to Be a Doctor (Lawyer/Engineer/Etc.) Anymore!: Institute for the Humanities, open room

    What do you do when you’ve succeeded in a S. Asian parent-approved career, and realize what you really want to do is be a writer? Can you do a 180-career-wise? Are there ways to incorporate the arts into a busy work/family life? Those who have done it tell their tales!

    (Ashini J. Desai (m.), Syed Haider, Parul Kaushik, Tanaz Bhathena)

     

    Writing On Religious / Spiritual Matters: Institute for the Humanities, closed room

    Writers discuss a variety of issues related to writing on religious and spiritual matters.

    (Shakuntala Rajagopal, Meeta Kaur (m.), Nura Maznavi)

     

    Vocal and Dance Performances: Daley Library, Room 1-470

    Singer-songwriter Malini D. Sur / Bharathanatyam dancer Sutikshna Veeravalli

     

    Saturday 4:00 – 4:50 p.m.

    Q&A with Editor Anjali Singh: Institute for the Humanities, closed room

    Singh answers every question you’ve ever had about book editors and publishers — or as many as she can fit into an hour. An informal discussion with Anjali Singh

     

    Writing Culturally-Specific Stories: The Authenticity Debate: Institute for the Humanities, open room

    What do you say if someone says to you, “You don’t even live in South Asia — what makes you think you’re authentic enough to be telling this story? You don’t know us!” When you write about a culture, do you feel a responsibility to accurately represent the community? What are your concerns? What do you do to help you in that process? (Shikha Malaviya (m.), Phiroozeh Romer, Samina Hadi-Tabassum, Tanaz Bhathena, Nayomi Munaweera)

     

    Vocal Performances: Daley Library, Room 1-470

    Singer/songwriter Bidisha Sinha / Carnatic vocalist Arvind Venugopal performances (20 min each)

     

    Poetry Workshop for Kids 8-16: SSB, 1200 West Harrison Street

    (Ashini J. Desai)

     

    Saturday 5:00 – 5:50 p.m.

    Selling Your First Book: Institute for the Humanities, open room

    Writers who have recently (or not-so-recently) sold their first book tell us how they did it, and what they learned in the process. Learn what to do, what not to do — and hear about a few great new books to watch out for! (Dipika Mukherjee (m.), Sonali Dev, Soniah Kamal, Nayomi Munaweera)

     

    Evolution of South Asian Music in the United States: Daley Library, Room 1-470

    This panel would include those who have knowledge or expertise in the history of South Asian music’s journey to and within the U.S. as well as those who are currently engaged in performing and promoting South Asian classical or fusion music in the U.S. Together these perspectives will speak to how South Asian music’s journey has impacted the U.S. musical landscape and how this journey, in turn, has impacted the evolution of South Asian music. (Sutikshna Veeravalli, Nita Chawla, Kavita Das, Malini D. Sur, Tara Swaminathan, Arvind Venugopal (m.))

     

    Readings: Institute for the Humanities, closed room

    Ashini J. Desai, Meeta Kaur

     

    Saturday 6:00 – 6:50 p.m.

    Politics and Writing: A Panel and Open Discussion: Daley Library, Room 1-470

    Writers discuss their goals in writing about politics. (Is any writing not political?) Are they attempting to create change in the world? What changes would they like to see? What have been the visible effects of their work, if any? Should writers be political on a large-scale? What are the inherent dangers of that work? A facilitated open discussion of the ways in which writers engage political issues in their work, and the ways readers respond. (Dipika Mukherjee, Kavita Das, Deepak Unnikrishnan, Divya Rajan, Mary Anne Mohanraj (m.))

     

    Adapting Artistic Traditions: Institute for the Humanities, open room

    Many people observe traditions or cultural activities just for the sake of not losing touch with their heritage. As a result, they don’t know the depth or history of it. Does that actually keep up the culture or dilute/skew it with a half-understood form of art? In terms of how we come across to people outside South Asian culture, are we helping propagate stereotypes of ourselves by presenting art forms that most American South Asians themselves only understand superficially? Most people assume that when one says, “I pursue classical, Indian dance”, it mean Bollywood as in Slumdog Millionare. Are classical arts becoming “westernized” but put under the name of classical just to sound ethnically diverse? (Sutikshna Veeravalli, Madhavi Reddi, Riti Sachdeva (m.))

     

    YA / Kids’ Writing: Institute for the Humanities, closed room

    Can we write books for children and teens that move beyond saris and mangoes? Writers discuss how we can write for children of South Asian heritage in the West, exposing them to characters who are like them, but without the clichés. (Ashini J. Desai, Rajdeep Paulus (m.))

     

    Saturday 7:00 – 7:50 p.m.

    Theatre and Dance Performances: Daley Library, Room 1-470

    Bharatanatyam performance by Mahdavi Reddi

    followed by

    Brooklyn Bound: a ten-minute play by Riti Sachdeva, directed by Danielle Fleming, performed by Manish Shah, Chris Vizurraga, and Riti Sachdeva

     

    Sex and the Word: Institute for the Humanities, closed room

    In recent years, more and more South Asians have started writing explicitly around sexuality. Mary Anne Mohanraj, Ginu Kamani, the authors in Desilicious, the participants in Yoni ki Baat, and many performance poets all explore the sexual arena. What are the challenges of working with this material? What are the rewards? Are you willing to read an erotic story? How about in public, on a bus or train? Do you take the books off the shelves when your parents visit? Authors and readers discuss the pleasures and problems of writing and reading sex. (Sonali Dev, Mary Anne Mohanraj (m.), Rajdeep Paulus, Mina Khan, Soniah Kamal)

     

    Pros on Poetry: Institute for the Humanities, open room

    Poets prose about poet things.

    (Shikha Malaviya, Vivek Sharma (m.), Divya Rajan, Ashini J. Desai)

     

    Saturday 8:00 – 10:00 p.m.

     

    Open mic: Institute for the Humanities, open room

     

    Sunday, September 28th:

     

    Sunday 9:00 – 9:50

    Writing from the Diaspora: Daley Library, Room 1-470

    South Asian writers in Trinidad have a different story to tell than those in South Africa, UK, US, Hong Kong, etc. Writers discuss issues that arise in diasporic fiction. (Phiroozeh Romer (m.), Nayomi Munaweera, Preston Merchant, Gotham Mamik)

     

    Poetry Workshop: Institute for the Humanities, open room

    No experience necessary! Come try some fun writing exercises with the guidance of our visiting writers; unlock your creativity! Please arrive on time – we will start promptly.

    (Divya Rajan)

     

    Sunday 10:00 – 10:50

    Writing and Interdisciplinary Artistic Practice, Take Two: Daley Library, Room 1-470

    How do other creative arts inform our writing practices? How do the brush, the camera, performance and visual art connect with the texts these interdisciplinary artists write? Are projects in different media distinct, or do they grow out of each other?  Through different disciplines, how do writers engage with mindfulness, mash-up culture, folk arts, and personal memory?

    (Preston Merchant (m.), Madhavi Reddi, Satyajit Kharkar, Riti Sachdeva)

     

    Fiction Workshop: Institute for the Humanities, open room

    No experience necessary! Come try some fun writing exercises with the guidance of our visiting writers; unlock your creativity! Please arrive on time – we will start promptly.

    (Meeta Kaur)

     

    Readings: Institute for the Humanities, closed room

    Dipika Mukherjee, Divya Rajan

     

    Sunday 11:00 – 11:50

    Film panel: Institute for the Humanities, open room

    (Anu Singh Chaudhary, Satyajit Kharkar (m.), Madhavi Reddi)

     

    Trauma and Memory in South Asian Literature: Daley Library, Room 1-470

    So many of ours stories focus on trauma, individual and national. Writesr discuss the intersection of trauma with questions of memory – what do we remember, individually and as a people? What stories get told and retold, inscribed into memory. Are there times when memory is essential? Are there times when forgetting may be for the best?

    (Soniah Kamal (m.), Mary Anne Mohanraj, Nayomi Munaweera)

     

    Readings: Institute for the Humanities, closed room

    Kavita Das, Visi Tilak

     

    Sunday 12:00 – 12:50

    Ask the Editor: Institute for the Humanities, open room

    Editors gather to discuss their work, and invite your questions.

    (Syed Haider, Pooja Garg Singh (m.), Diana Pho)

     

    Performance & Reading: Daley Library, Room 1-470

    Prateek Srivastava, comedian / Dabhade reading (20 min. each)

     

    Sunday 1:00 – 1:50

    Fiction Workshop: Institute for the Humanities, open room

    No experience necessary! Come try some fun writing exercises with the guidance of our visiting writers; unlock your creativity! Please arrive on time – we will start promptly.

    (Rajdeep Paulus)

     

    Readings: Institute for the Humanities, closed room

    Phiroozeh Romer / Pooja Garg Singh

     

    Film Screenings: Daley Library, Room 1-470

    “The Queen of My Dreams,” by Fawzia Mirza (3 min)

    “Yes I Am (American),” music video by Malini D. Sur (6 min)

    “Coin Toss,” by Satya Kharkar (97 min)

     

    Sunday 2:00 – 2:50

    Readings: Institute for the Humanities, closed room

    Deepak Unnikrishnan / Soniah Kamal

     

     

2 thoughts on “Schedule

  1. Mary Anne Mohanraj

    No registration is necessary for the workshops — they’re drop-in! A detailed schedule will be posted very shortly.

Comments are closed.