Rochelle Potkar

Rochelle Potkar
Born Rochelle Potkar
(1979-03-09) 9 March 1979
Kalyan, Maharashtra, India
Occupation Writer
Nationality Indian
Alma mater Wigan and Leigh College, India
La Trobe University, Australia
Genre Fiction, poetry, short story
Notable works Four Degrees of Separation
The Arithmetic of Breasts & Other Stories
Website
rochellepotkar.com

Rochelle Potkar (born 9 March 1979) is an Indian fiction writer and poet based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.[1] Her first book, 'The Arithmetic of breasts and other stories' was shortlisted for The Digital Book of the Year Award 2014,[2] by Publishing Next. 'Four Degrees of Separation' (Paperwall, 2016) is her first book of poetry.[3] She has represented India at the University of Iowa's International Writing Program and was a writer-in-residence at the UNESCO city of literature – Iowa's International Writing Program (IWP), Fall Residency 2015.[4][5][6]

Early life and education

Born in Kalyan to Goan parents. She moved to Mumbai in 1998. Rochelle graduated in commerce and post graduated from Wigan and Leigh college, Mahalaxmi. She completed an MBA from La Trobe University, Australia. She began writing at 27, after giving up her corporate job.[7][8]

Professional career

As writer

The Arithmetic of Breasts and other stories is her first book of short fiction, shortlisted for The Digital Book of the year award 2014, by Publishing Next, Goa.[9] Her short stories have appeared in several journals including Far Enough East, Sein und Werden, The Medulla Review, The Nassau Review, Women Writers, Writer's Hub, Bewildering Stories, Cantaraville, Muse India, Marijuana Diaries, The Bangalore Review, Revenge Ink, Nivasini, Unisun, Triangulation, Lame Goat Publications, Annapurna magazine, and Rollick Magazine. Her themes are usually around relationships. She writes realism and paranormal fiction.

She won a gold place for her story, 'The point of Irish coffee' (Revenge Ink), and an editor's choice award for, 'Ramayan redux' (Triangulation: Parch, US). She narrated two true-life tales at Tall Tales Storytelling. She completed an Advanced Fiction Seminar offered by University of Iowa's International Writing Program via distance learning, 2013. She was also invited to participate as a writer-in-residence in the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa in 2015, representing India.[10][11][12][13][14]

As a poet

Four Degrees of Separation is her first book of poems published by Paperwall, March 2016. Her poems have appeared in The Brown Boat, The Finger Magazine, Haibun Today, The Bamboo Hut, A Hundred Gourds, Poems for the Road podcast (UK), Zo 2014, Poetry exposé, Bigbridge, Poetry India, bottle rocket, The Dhauli Review, The Freshwater Review, caesurae, 40 under 40 – an anthology of post-globalization poetry. Her poem, 'Knotted inside me' was shortlisted for the RL Poetry Award 2013. She won a second place for 'Swing' at the Wordweavers contest 2014. Some of the recurring themes in her poems are motherhood, love and socio-anthropology.

She has read her poetry at several interfaces in Mumbai at Kala Ghoda Arts Festival, 100 Thousand Poets for Change, Godrej India Culture Lab, American Library, PEN@Prithvi, 'Words tell stories', The Hive, and The Poetry Club (TPC); in Hyderabad at Ten Thousand Waves, Our Sacred Space, Hyderabad Literary Festival (HLF);[15] in Goa at Goa Arts and Literary Festival (GALF);[16] in Chennai at Prakriti Festival, American Library; in Hong Kong at Out Loud, Fringe club, and with the Peel Street poets; and in Iowa city at Prairie Lights bookstore.[17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24] Her works were dramatically read and interpreted by veteran actors and dancers on stages in Iowa and Portland, Maine. Rochelle practices and promotes the Japanese short poetry form – Haibun, through workshops. Rochelle is the co-editor of Neesah magazine[25] and poetry editor of The Bombay Review.[26][27]

As actor

Rochelle debuted in a character role in the Tamil feature-length film, Taramani, directed by award-winning director Ram.

Notable work

Poetry

Short stories

References

  1. ↑ Afreen, Saima (12 January 2016). "Lady of Verses". Hyderabad: New Indian Express.
  2. ↑ "Publishing Next declares shortlist". PrintWeek India. 7 July 2016. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  3. ↑ "Voicing against social evils through poetry". The Hans India. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  4. ↑ Sripathi, Apoorva. "A thirst for words". The Hindu. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  5. ↑ "Putting Childhood Back into the Child: Rights and Realities of Children In India". Iowa City Foreign Relation Council. 17 September 2015.
  6. ↑ "Panel Discussion On 'Girl Rising'" (PDF). International Exchange Alumni. US Department of State (May – November 2015, India): p.30.
  7. ↑ Sinha, Dipanjan (5 May 2016). "Mumbai author's book of poems explores her transition to the city centre from Kalyan". Mid Day.
  8. ↑ "Telling Tales in Mumbai". Wall Street Journal. 16 July 2013.
  9. ↑ Mitter, Suprita (24 July 2015). "Mumbai: Poem by ad professional creates stir for use of F-word". Mid Day.
  10. ↑ "Rochelle Potkar: ИЧИМДАГИ АСРЛАР (Суҳбатдош: Гўзал Бегим)" (in Tajik). 19 October 2015.
  11. ↑ "When words dance". The Daily Iowan. 29 October 2015.
  12. ↑ Ansari, Humaira (11 July 2013). "Change of scene". Hindustan Times.
  13. ↑ Nissen, Samantha (2 February 2016). "Rochelle Potkar on Going Home". Iwp.uiowa.edu. International Writing Program.
  14. ↑ "Rochelle Potkar to speak at ICFRC lecture". Iowa City Press Citizen. 18 September 2015.
  15. ↑ "Hyderabad Literary Festival 2016 to Focus on Marathi literature". New Indian Express. 17 December 2015.
  16. ↑ Alvares, Patricia Ann (28 November 2015). "History galore at GALF 2015". Goa, India: O Heraldo.
  17. ↑ Silgardo, Dustin. "In Mumbai, the poetry never ends". Live Mint. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  18. ↑ Kulkarni, Medha. "Global poetry festival comes to Mumbai". The Metrognome. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  19. ↑ Kale, Arun (21 January 2014). "Mic Check". Helter Skelter.
  20. ↑ "Pens and Palettes: An Afternoon Of Poetry". Indian Express. 30 March 2015.
  21. ↑ Murthy, Neeraja (10 January 2015). "On a write track". The Hindu.
  22. ↑ Behrawala, Krutika (22 April 2015). "Mumbai's got a new brew". Mid Day.
  23. ↑ Shivdasani, Menka (13 April 2014). "Rhyme and rhythm over frappe and latte". DNA.
  24. ↑ "The Write Choice". New Indian Express. 19 April 2016.
  25. ↑ "Literature: Better Than Politics at Fostering Cultural Understanding". Iowa Public Radio. 25 April 2016.
  26. ↑ "Editorial Team". The Bombay Review. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  27. ↑ Pinto, Augusto. "Many talents, ideas seeking an outlet – the short story in today's Goa". Goanet Reader. Archived from the original on 31 December 2015.
  28. ↑ "Thought provoking poetry". The Hindu. 25 June 2015.
  29. ↑ Brahmachari, Goirick (30 April 2016). "Book Review: Personal poems that evoke a sense of the universal". The Sunday Guardian.
  30. ↑ Das, Nabita (28 May 2016). "How 40 poets under 40 are writing India of the 1980s and 1990s". Scroll.in.
  31. ↑ Sinha, Dipanjan (7 July 2016). "40 Under 40 is a collection of poems that relive the last few decades". Mid Day.
  32. ↑ Bhattacharjee, Dr. Ratan (12 October 2015). "A woman writer's bold voice: The Arithmetic of Breasts and Other Stories". Merinews.
  33. ↑ Anjum, Zafar (1 September 2015). "Kitaab Review: The Arithmetic of Breasts and Other Stories by Rochelle Potkar". Kitaab.org.
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