Divya Victor is a Tamil American poet and professor, known for her poetry book ''Curb'' which won the PEN Open Book Award. __TOC__

Early life and education

Divya Victor was born in

Nagercoil Nagercoil, also spelt as Nagarkovil ("Temple of the Nāgas", or Nagaraja-Temple), is a city and the administrative headquarters of Kanyakumari District in Tamil Nadu state, India. Situated close to the tip of the Indian peninsula, it lies on an ...

, India. Victor earned her B.S. in English from

Towson University Towson University (TU or Towson) is a public university in Towson, Maryland. Founded in 1866 as Maryland's first training school for teachers, Towson University is a part of the University System of Maryland. Since its founding, the university h ...

, her M.A. in Creative Writing (Poetry) from

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then calle ...

, and her Ph.D. in English at

University at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo, commonly called the University at Buffalo (UB) and sometimes called SUNY Buffalo, is a public research university with campuses in Buffalo and Amherst, New York. The university was founded in 18 ...

(SUNY). Victor has taught at the University at Buffalo (SUNY) and Nanyang Technological University, which hosts Singapore's first Advanced Creative Writing Program. She has also served as the editor for Jacket2. She is currently based in East Lansing and is an Associate Professor at Michigan State University.

Awards and recognition

Victor's CURB, won the PEN America Open Book Award and the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award. Her earlier book, Natural Subjects, won the Bob Kaufman Award. In 2012 she won the Mark Diamond Research Fund Award from the University at Buffalo. She has been a Riverrun Fellow at

University of California San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego is th ...

's Archive for New Poetry, and a Writer in Residence at the Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibit (L.A.C.E.). MoCA Los Angeles, The National Gallery of Singapore, the L.A.C.E. and the MoMA have performed or installed her work.

Critical reception

National Book Critics Circle The National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) is an American nonprofit organization (501(c)(3)) with more than 700 members. It is the professional association of American book review editors and critics, known primarily for the National Book Critics C ...

Board member Diego Báez has described Victor as a "globally minded, locally rooted, exceedingly brilliant poet." Mandana Chaffa, a National Book Critics Circle Fellow, describes her work as "a powerful political act" that is "yet it is first and foremost a poetic act, one that is not to be missed." Her book CURB has been described by

Cathy Park Hong Cathy Park Hong (born August 7, 1976) is an American poet, writer, and professor who has published three volumes of poetry. Much of her work includes mixed language and serialized narrative. She was named on the 2021 Time 100 list for her writing ...

as "Layered, rich, and epic…incredible collection that must be read and re-read." Don Mee Choi called it "innovative…a powerful spell against empire's geography." Pen America's judges citation for the Pen American Open Book Award describes CURB as "a remarkable book of poetry…a stunning historical document" and "brilliantly inventive." Amitava Kumar, the Indian writer and journalist, has remarked that Victor's ''Kith'' describes "so well our locked destinies and, at the same time, perhaps because of their wit, or vitality, or compassion, deliver us into liberated zones of heightened consciousness."

Select bibliography

Books

* Curb, Nightboat Books. 2021. * Kith, Fence Books. 2017. * Unsub, Insert Blanc. Los Angeles. 2015. * Natural Subjects, Trembling Pillow. 2014. * Things to Do with Your Mouth, Les Figues 2013.

Chapbooks and other short-form publications

* Scheingleichheit (German edition). :de:Merve Verlag. 2020. * Semblance (English edition). Sputnik and Fizzle Book. 2016. * Reconfiliating: Conversations with Conceptual-Affiliated Writers. With an Afterword by Joseph Mosconi. Essay Press. 2015. * Swift Taxidermies 1919-1922, Gauss PDF. 2014. * Say Hello to Your Last Chapbook, with Mathias Svalina, New Lights Press. 2014. * Partial Derivative of the Unnamable, Troll Thread. 2012. * Goodbye, John! On John Baldessari, Gauss PDF. 2012. * Punch, Gauss PDF. 2011. * Partial Dictionary of the Unnamable, Troll Thread. 2011. * Partial Directory of the Unnamable, Troll Thread. 2011. * Hellocasts by Charles Reznikoff by Divya Victor by Vanessa Place, Ood Press. 2010. * Sutures, Little Red Leaves. 2009.

References

External links

Divya Victor Personal Website

CURB(ED)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Victor, Divya American people of Indian Tamil descent People from Nagercoil Indian emigrants to Singapore Tamil poets 21st-century Indian poets Indian women poets Michigan State University faculty Nanyang Technological University faculty Towson University alumni Temple University alumni Living people Year of birth missing (living people) English-language poets from India