Raising the profile of South Asian writers since 2007
Tell us a bit about yourself and how you landed the position of literary agent? I graduated from St Andrews University in Scotland in 2004 and headed straight to Germany on a European Training Services scheme where I worked for a small independent publisher called Trojan Books. I spent most of my time researching the …
STARBUCKS, near the corner of Albert Square is crowded with people taking a break from their office work; smart men and women reading a book or a newspaper. There were many strangely named coffees and at the beginning I was confused; espresso, cappuccino, caramel macchiato- all expensively priced. The cups would be too big for …
You’re the youngest published writer to be featured on The Asian Writer – do you consider yourself as a young writer? And what perception do people have of you? Of course I do. I think it’s a bit of a shock for whoever has heard of the book. Also they assume that I’m really smart which is …
Tell us a bit about your journey as a writer so far? I was born in Bombay into quite a bookish environment and with many fervent adults around. I grew up there for a few years and then in England, and always wrote stories and other things. When I was fourteen I had a …
We’ve been here several times before discussing your writing. What’s happened since we last spoke? Now, I actually have a book out, Coconut Unlimited. It’s out in October on Quartet Books. Since we last spoke, I’ve signed a book deal, started developing a sitcom for a TV channel, eaten my bodyweight in idlis, now I’ve …
The Asian Writer’s first collection Happy Birthday to Me : A collection of contemporary Asian writing is due for release on October 30th 2010. The collection features new writing by emerging writers on the theme of celebration, a selection of interviews from the last three years of The Asian Writer as well as an advice …
When did you start writing poetry? I started writing poetry when I was about 18. What was the first poem that you wrote, that you thought was good? My first poem that I thought was good (and published in the Sunday Supplement of a local Bengali newspaper) was titled ‘Bhanga chair’, (broken chair), a raw …
When did you start writing poetry? I started writing poetry in my early teens. What was the first poem you wrote that you thought was good? I can’t really remember the first poem I wrote which I thought was good as I started writing quite young and my standards have changed dramatically since then. However …
When did you start writing poetry? I want to say when I was in my pre-teens. Growing up, I always liked collecting diaries and scribbling in them, but I formally started dabbling in poetry when I joined my boarding school in Mussoorie, India. Of course, over the years, my voice and style (impacted by my …
Arvind Mehrotra is a name that you might not be too familiar with, but in May last year, he was the first Indian poet to be nominated for the chair of Professor of Poetry at Oxford. Mehrotra is considered to be one of the leading Indian poets writing in English and currently heads the English …