Vinita Agrawal is an Indian poet, editor and curator. She is the author of four books of poetry and the editor of an anthology on climate change. She was short listed for 2018 Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize for her poetry collection The Silk of Hunger and awarded the prize jointly. She is on the advisory board of the Tagore Literary Prize. She is a poetry editor with Usawa Literary Review.[1]
Vinita Agrawal | |
|---|---|
| Born | 18 August 1965 Bikaner, Rajasthan, India |
| Occupation | poet, editor and curator |
| Language | English |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Notable works | The Silk of Hunger |
| Website | |
Official website  | |
Early life and education
editVinita Agrawal was born on 18 August 1965 in Bikaner.[2] She completed her schooling in Anand (Gujarat), Kalimpong, and Kolkata in West Bengal. Later she completed her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees with political science from The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, and a diploma in computer programming from Aptech.[3]
Works
editHer poems were published in Asiancha, Constellations, The Fox Chase Review, Pea River Journal, Open Road Review, Stockholm Literary Review, Poetry Pacific and other journals.[4][5] She served as the poetry editor of Usawa Literary Review.[6]
She was influenced by the works of Jayanta Mahapatra, Pablo Neruda and Rumi. She writes poems with the themes and subjects like existential angst and women's empowerment.[3] She is an author of four books of poetry: Two Full Moons, Words Not Spoken, The Longest Pleasure and The Silk Of Hunger.[6] Two Full Moons explores subjects including birth, death, existence, family, soul and heart.[7]
In 2020, she edited anthology entitled Open your Eyes: An Anthology on Climate Change. It features poetry and prose written by 63 Indian writers. It investigates human relationships with the natural world.[5][8] She co-edited Yearbook of Indian Poetry in English, 2020-21 with Sukrita Paul Kumar.[9]
Honour
edit- Nominated for the Best of the Net Awards 2011 by Contemporary Literary Review of India.[2]
- Won Gayatri GaMarsh Memorial Award in the English category (2015).[10]
- Won second prize at TallGrass Writers Guild Award (2017).[3]
- The Proverse Poetry Prize (2017).[3]
- She was short listed for Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize (2018).[3][11]
References
edit- ^ "Advisory Board – Tagore Prize". Retrieved 25 January 2021.
- ^ a b "Cha: An Asian Literary Journal". March 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
- ^ a b c d e "Verses From the Heart". Marwar. 25 January 2019. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
- ^ "Two Poems by Vinita Agrawal". Mithila Review. 4 May 2016. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
- ^ a b Mehdi, Tamanna S (22 October 2020). "Wake up to climate change". New Indian Express. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
- ^ a b "Open Your Eyes—Poetry's Response to Climate Change". The Chakkar. 19 October 2020. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
- ^ Nalini, Priyadarshni (May 2019). "Review of Two Full Moons by Vinita Agrawal". Setu सेतु. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
- ^ Sen, Sudeep (22 January 2021). "Essay: Poetry for every day of the year, for all seasons". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
- ^ "Yearbook of Indian Poetry in English, 2020-21". The Hindu. 4 July 2021. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
- ^ Sivakumar, Srividya (18 December 2015). "Running in Poetry: Of paintings in poetry". The Hindu. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
- ^ "Shortlist year 2018. – Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize". Retrieved 24 January 2021.