Category: #DesiCraftChat

A 30-45 minutes segment to discuss a recent book with a writer, poet, or translator with a focus on aspects of their writing craft as it relates to this book and more. If you’d like to be featured in this channel, please go to the Contact page (see the top menu.)



#DesiCraftChat: N. Kalyan Raman on translating Vaasanthi’s Breaking Free and all that a translator brings to a text

Jenny Bhatt

Hello and welcome to Episode 83 of Desi Books—news and views about desi literature from the world over. I’m your host, Jenny Bhatt. Thank you for tuning in. In today's #DesiCraftChat, we have Kalyan Raman discussing his latest Tamil-to-English translation of Vaasanthi's novel, Breaking Free. We also discuss how he chooses the works to translate, what drew him to translate this novel, how a translator brings all their learning and experiences to their translation work, how he sees literary criticism and translation work as connected, and a lot more.

#DesiCraftChat: Nandita Dinesh on how the hybrid, nonlinear novel form helped her write about the effects of war

Jenny Bhatt

Hello and welcome to Episode 82 of Desi Books—news and views about desi literature from the world over. I’m your host, Jenny Bhatt. Thank you for tuning in. In today's #DesiCraftChat, we have Nandita Dinesh discussing her debut novel, This Place That Place, and how the hybrid, nonlinear novel form helped her write about the effects of war, how her theater and performance background informed this book, why she wanted to explore nuanced and ethical ways to engage with contexts we may not understand, and much more.

#DesiCraftChat: Devi S. Laskar on what’s changed (or not) for older women writers of color

Jenny Bhatt

Hello and welcome to Episode 80 of Desi Books—news and views about desi literature from the world over. I’m your host, Jenny Bhatt. Thank you for tuning in. In today's #DesiCraftChat, we have Devi S. Laskar discussing her new novel, Circa, and writing in the second person, how fiction can show a possible path out of grief, embracing how journalism informs her fiction and poetry, using the pendulum method to finish a book, what's changed (or not) for older women writers of color, and much more.

#DesiCraftChat: Vauhini Vara on why she ended her novel with a question about human ambition

Jenny Bhatt

Hello and welcome to Episode 79 of Desi Books—news and views about desi literature from the world over. I’m your host, Jenny Bhatt. Thank you for tuning in. In today's #DesiCraftChat, we have Vauhini Vara discussing her debut novel, The Immortal King Rao, how she braided multiple storylines together, why she ended with a question about human ambition, how her MFA helped her bring this first book into the world—and much more.

#DesiCraftChat: Tanaïs on creating new pathways to tell stories and histories and honor literary lineage

Jenny Bhatt

Hello and welcome to Episode 69 of Desi Books—news and views about desi literature from the world over. I’m your host, Jenny Bhatt. Thank you for tuning in. In today's #DesiCraftChat, we have Tanaïs discussing their new memoir, In Sensorium. In this conversation, we talked about creating new pathways to tell our individual stories and collective histories, honoring our literary lineage, dealing with being both invisible and hyper-visible—and much more.

#DesiCraftChat: Rita Kothari on decoding cultural and sociopolitical issues through literary translation

Jenny Bhatt

Hello and welcome to Episode 66 of Desi Books—news and views about desi literature from the world over. I’m your host, Jenny Bhatt. Thank you for tuning in. In today's #DesiCraftChat, we have Rita Kothari discussing a new short story anthology titled The Greatest Gujarati Stories Ever Told, which she has selected, edited, and mostly translated too. In this conversation, we talked about the differences of translating different forms, the diversity within Gujarati culture, balancing the theory and practice of translation, decoding cultural and sociopolitical issues through literary translation—and much more.

#DesiCraftChat: Wajahat Ali on living with one foot in the American dream and one in the American nightmare

Jenny Bhatt

Hello and welcome to Episode 66 of Desi Books—news and views about desi literature from the world over. I’m your host, Jenny Bhatt. Thank you for tuning in. In today's #DesiCraftChat, we have Wajahat Ali discussing his . In this conversation, we talked about how literary translation can help bring languages and cultures closer, the inner journey of a literary translator—and much more.

#DesiCraftChat: Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma on the inner journey of a literary translator

Jenny Bhatt

Hello and welcome to Episode 65 of Desi Books—news and views about desi literature from the world over. I’m your host, Jenny Bhatt. Thank you for tuning in. In today's #DesiCraftChat, we have Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma discussing his latest, a literary translation of the Tamil classic, The Kural: Tiruvalluvar’s Tirukkural into English. In this conversation, we talked about how literary translation can help bring languages and cultures closer, the inner journey of a literary translator—and much more.

#DesiCraftChat: Manu Pillai on spotlighting those who’ve been footnoted in history

Jenny Bhatt

Hello and welcome to Episode 64 of Desi Books—news and views about desi literature from the world over. I’m your host, Jenny Bhatt. Thank you for tuning in. In today's #DesiCraftChat, we have Manu Pillai discussing his latest book: False Allies: India's Maharajahs in the Age of Ravi Varma. In this conversation, we talked about deromanticizing the past, spotlighting those who've been footnoted in history—and much more.

#DesiCraftChat: Rafia Zakaria on how feminism can be more egalitarian and diverse

Jenny Bhatt

Hello and welcome to Episode 61 of Desi Books—news and views about desi literature from the world over. I’m your host, Jenny Bhatt. Thank you for tuning in. This entire week, we have the brilliant ladies from Brown Girl Bookshelf as guest hosts. Today, they'll be talking with Rafia Zakaria about her groundbreaking book, Against White Feminism. Before I hand over to them, here's a quick introduction to our wonderful guest hosts: Mishika Narula and Srisruthi Ramesh of Brown Girl Bookshelf.