Arts Interview: Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, Author, Poet and Activist | It’s A Question Of Balance 23 April 2016

Broadcast on 23 April 2016 on KSCO AM 1080, KSCO 104.1 FM, KOMY AM 1340, and KSCO.com Live Stream.

It's A Question Of Balance ® radio show balances the intellectual with the creative, exploring whether we have more in common than divides us through thought-provoking conversations - out and about with people on the street on different topics, and in the studio with inspiring guests from the arts. Balance is not a compromise. Balance is truth distilled from many places creating cohesive understanding.  

Check out podcasts of the different topics and arts guests at www.itsaquestionofbalance.com

Arts Interview: In-Depth Arts Conversation with Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

This week as her special guest from the arts Ruth Copland is pleased to be interviewing Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, multi-award-winning and bestselling author, poet, activist and teacher of writing. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni writes for children as well as adults and has published novels in multiple genres, including realistic fiction, historical fiction, magical realism, and fantasy. Her themes include the Indian experience, contemporary America, women, immigration, history, myth, and the joys and challenges of living in a multicultural world. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s work has been published in over 50 magazines, including the Atlantic Monthly and The New Yorker, and her writing has been included in over 50 anthologies, including The Best American Short Stories, the O.Henry Prize Stories and the Pushcart Prize Anthology. Chitra’s books have been translated into 29 languages and many of them have been used for campus-wide and city-wide reads. Her novels include The Mistress of Spices, Sister of My Heart, The Palace of Illusions and Oleander Girl. Several of her works have been made into films, all of which have won awards. 

Born in Kolkata, India, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni came to the US for her graduate studies, receiving a Master’s degree in English from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. Chitra currently teaches in the nationally ranked Creative Writing Programme at the University of Houston, where she is the Betty and Gene McDavid Professor of Creative Writing. Chitra has judged several prestigious awards, such as the National Book Award and the PEN Faulkner Award. She is also, herself, the winner of many awards including the American Book Award, and also awards for her poems, such as a Gerbode Award, a Barbara Deming Memorial Award and an Allen Ginsberg Award.

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is an activist and serves on the Advisory board of Maitri in the San Francisco Bay Area and Daya in Houston both of which help South Asian or South Asian American women who find themselves in abusive or domestic violence situations. Chitra served on the board of Pratham, an organization that helps educate underprivileged children in India, for many years and is currently on their emeritus board. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s latest book is Before We Visit The Goddess. 

For more info and to hear previous shows visit www.itsaquestionofbalance.com