Readings
Electric Ladyland
South Asian Women's Creative Collective - SAWCC’s Fifth Annual Literary Festival - New York, Fall 2007
This two-day series of readings, panels, and workshops features South Asians who write personal, political, and popular literature. As pop culture and politics intersect, literature provides an avenue for women to find their groove. This festival explores the electricity of South Asians writing in a different time, in different ways through the lenses of music, food, the Internet, politics, criticism, poetry, and fiction. Electric Ladyland will provide an opportunity for these works to converge and spark new dialogue.
Featured readings by: Sita Bhaskar, Roohi Choudhry, V.V. Ganeshananthan, Sheba Karim, Keshni Kashyap, Yesha Naik, Nina Sharma, and Marian Thambynayagam with Varuni Tiruchelvam
Panelists: Chitrita Banerji, Shobhan Bantwal, Sita Bhaskar, Samantha Edussuriya, Anna John, Janki Khatau, Mira Kamdar, Sejal Shah, Sunita Mukhi, Monica Pradhan, Saira Rao, and Amardeep Singh
Writing workshops with: V.V.Ganeshananthan and Robin Mookerjee
Room of One's Own, Madison WI - Winter 2010
In the Silence of this Room is a cross-cultural collection of writings that through poetry, narrative, and photos grapple with some of the most pressing issues of the world we live in: war, poverty, health care, environment, family, beauty, and lastly the ever-present need to connect love. The book represents the efforts of dedicated artists around the globe, some whom have been awarded literary prizes, to express a personal vision. For them, this book represents both the vision of the world as it is and what it can be. It also expresses the belief that no matter our culture or environment, no matter what distance separates us we are more similar than not. We are all richly human and can accomplish great things. --Author, Kyle Hemmings
34 international authors and artists offer their hearts, words, and artistry.
Open Fire: Rights, Radicalism, and Revolution
South Asian Women's Creative Collective - SAWCC’s Annual Literary Festival - New York, Fall 2011
South Asian Women's Creative Collective - SAWCC’s Fifth Annual Literary Festival
From the Middle East to the Midwest, revolution is spreading. Women have joined radicals in solidarity, even as their own rights come under fire by conservative elements. Some of these women are able to tell their stories from Madison, Sanaa, and Tahrir Square. Others are silenced, devalued, or (in the infamous case of a Syrian blogger) invented. Fact or fiction, real or imagined, told from the inside or the outside, narratives provoke, explore, critique, and—in some cases—prevent revolution. This literary festival is an exploration of the role of stories in political change.
Rapid-Fire Reading
South Asian women perform poetry, fiction, and spoken-word on the themes of rights, radicalism, and revolution. Featuring Fawzia Afzal-Khan, Sita Bhaskar, Marina Budhos, V.V. Ganeshananthan, Neesha Meminger, Yesha Naik, Vani Natarajan, Purvi Shah, Jyotsna Sreenivasan, and Mathangi Subramanian.
Finding One's Voice: Conference of South Asian Writers - UW Fox Valley, WI - Fall 2012
The conference organized by IndUS of Fox Valley, Wisconsin, opened with the session “Finding One’s Voice”. The participating writers were: Mary Anne Mohanraj (Sri Lanka) from University of Chicago; Kirin Narayan (India) from UW Madison; Sita Bhaskar (India), a freelance writer; and Asha Sen (India) of UW Eau Clare. Bruce Dethlefsen, the Poet Laureate of Wisconsin was the moderator. Writers talked about the challenges they faced in finding their voices and identities.