G.S. Sharat Chandra (1935–2000) was an author of both
poetry and
fiction
Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...
. Much of his work touches on the deep emotions of the
Indian/
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
immigrant.
Indian-born Chandra received a
law degree in
India but came to the
United States in the 1960s to become a
writer. He received his
Masters of Fine Arts form the
Iowa Writers Workshop. For most of his career, Chandra taught at the
University of Missouri-
Kansas City
The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...
as a professor of
Creative Writing and English (1983–2000). His most famous work, Family of Mirrors, was a 1993
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
nominee for poetry. Author of ten books, including
translations from
Sanskrit and
English into the Indian language
Kannada , a former Fulbright Fellow and recipient of an NEA Fellowship in Creative Writing, Chandra has given readings at the
Library of Congress,
Oxford, and McDaid's Pub in
Dublin.
Chandra traveled the world extensively throughout his life and received international recognition for both his
poetry and
fiction
Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...
. His works have appeared in many journals including
American Poetry Review
''The American Poetry Review'' (''APR'') is an American poetry magazine printed every other month on tabloid-sized newsprint. It was founded in 1972 by Stephen Berg and Stephen Parker in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The magazine's editor is Elizab ...
,
London Magazine,
The Nation, and
Partisan Review.
Chandra was married to his wife, Jane for 38 years until he died of a brain aneurysm in 2000.
He left three children.
Work
*April in Nanjangud, Alan Ross Ltd., London Magazine Editions, 1971;
*Once or Twice, Hippopotamus Press, UK, 1974;
*The Ghost of Meaning, Lewis-Clark State College, Confluence Press, Idaho, 1976;
*Heirloom,
Oxford University Press, 1982;
*Family of Mirrors, BkMk Press, 1993;
*Immigrants of Loss, Hippopotamus Press, 1993–94,
*Sari of the Gods, 1998.
Sharat was a gifted teacher of creative writing. He encouraged persistence, craft, and imagination. He did so with humor and compassion. As a teacher at the Mark Twain Writer's Workshop, he once read from a stack of rejection letters, which he claimed papered the walls of his writing study. With regard to the writerly imagination, and the importance of craft, he once said: "You can tell me anything, anything at all. Just make me believe!"
References
Read also
Critical Biography of G.S. Sharat Chandraby Graziano Krätli, IWE Online.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chandra, G. S. Sharat
20th-century American poets
Poets from Missouri
1935 births
2000 deaths
English-language poets from India
Indian emigrants to the United States
American male poets
American male writers of Indian descent
20th-century American male writers