Ravi Shankar
Ravi Shankar (Col ’96 CM)
Ravi Shankar (Col ’96) published his 12th book, The Golden Shovel Anthology: New Poems Honoring Gwendolyn Brooks (University of Arkansas Press, 2017). Along with Peter Kahn and Patricia Smith, Shankar has edited this collection of new poems dedicated to the first African-American woman to win a Pulitzer Prize in poetry. Born in 1917, Ms. Brooks would be celebrating the centenary of her birth this year.
http://www.uapress.com/dd-product/the-golden-shovel-anthology/
“The Golden Shovel is quite simply a brilliant assembly of the work of poets I have admired for years and ones that I have just come to know and admire. I felt the thrill of creation reading it–the generative taking root, making me want to both read more and immerse myself in the form, in Brooks’s poems, and then write my own as these poets have done with remarkable range. This is an anthology that will be of great value to readers and writers of poetry for generations to come–just as Gwendolyn Brooks was, and is. What a way to honor her memory, her generosity of spirit, and her tremendous contributions to American poetry.”
—Natasha Trethewey
“It is a blessing that the clarion voice of Gwendolyn Brooks is being so wondrously cared for, enriched, and offered to a new generation of readers. Her words, and the responses they trigger today, remind us how much America has changed since she arrived in segregated Chicago most of a century ago– and also how much they have not.”
—Douglas A. Blackmon
“How incredibly fitting to create an entirely new poetic form to honor such a trailblazer as Gwendolyn Brooks in such a unique way. But more than merely a clever prompt or exercise, theGolden Shovel is an extraordinary form that has inspired these extraordinary poems in their own right, while echoing Brooks’s extraordinary voice for all to listen anew—a voice as relevant as ever. What’s more, the diversity of poets included here is also a testament to Brooks, whose work and life made possible the rich and varied landscape of American poetry that we enjoy today.”
—Richard Blanco
Ravi Shankar (Col ’96 CM)
Ravi Shankar (Col ’96 CM) and his co-translator Priya Sarrukai Chabria have published their translation of Andal: The Autobiography of a Goddess (Zubaan Books), the collected works of the eighth-century Tamil poet and saint Andal. Mr. Shankar is a poet, translator and founding editor of Drunken Boat. His books include Language for a New Century, Deepening Groove and What Else Could It Be.
Ravi Shankar (Col ’96 CM)
Ravi Shankar (Col ’96 CM) has published a new book of poetry, What Else Could it Be. Mr. Shankar is a professor of English at Central Connecticut State University and in the master of fine arts program at City University of Hong Kong. He has received a number of awards for his work, among them a Pushcart Prize. A founding editor of electronic arts journal Drunken Boat, one of the first electronic arts journals on the web, he also served as co-editor for W.W. Norton & Co.’s Language for a New Century: Contemporary Poetry from the Middle East, Asia and Beyond. Mr. Shankar’s other books include Instrumentality, a 2005 Connecticut Book Award finalist; and Deepening Groove, winner of the 2011 National Poetry Review Prize. His work, which he has performed around the world, has been featured in the New York Times and the Paris Review. Mr. Shankar has appeared on PBS, BBC and NPR, and has held fellowships from the MacDowell Colony, the Jentel Foundation and the Blue Mountain Center.
Ravi Shankar (Col ’96 CM)
Ravi Shankar (Col ’96 L/M) and Diane Creede (Col ’96 L/M) welcomed their second daughter, Talia Parvathi Shankar, on Nov. 18,2009. Talia joins her sister, Samara, and the family resides in Chester, Conn. Mr. Shankar teaches at Central Connecticut State University and Ms. Creede is employed at Connecticut College. The family will be traveling to Cypress early next year, where Mr. Shankar will be teaching for the semester. Talia is the niece of Rahini Shankar (Col ’07).