Rochelle Potkar

Rochelle Potkar is an Indian fiction writer and poet based in Mumbai, India. Her work includes the short story collections The Arithmetic of Breasts and Other Stories and Bombay Hangovers, as well as the poetry collections Four Degrees of Separation and Paper Asylum.

Rochelle Potkar
Born	Rochelle Potkar Kalyan, Maharashtra, India
Occupation	Writer
Nationality	Indian
Alma mater	La Trobe University, Australia
Genre	Fiction, poetry, short story
Notable works	The Arithmetic of Breasts & Other Stories Four Degrees of Separation Paper Asylum Bombay Hangovers
Website
rochellepotkar.com

She was a writer-in-residence in the 2015 Fall residency at the University of Iowa's International Writing Program, and the Charles Wallace Writer's fellow at the University of Stirling, Scotland in 2016-17. She is the founder of the Arcs-of-a-Circle artists' residency program.^[1]

Early life and education

Rochelle Potkar was born in Kalyan to Goan parents.^[2][1] She moved to Mumbai in 1998.^[2] She completed a college degree in commerce and a post-graduate degree in advertising^[3] from Wigan and Leigh College, Mahalaxmi.^{[citation needed]} She completed an MBA from La Trobe University, Australia.^[1]

Career

As writer

Her short stories and poems have been published in books, journals, and anthologies.^[4][5] She wrote her first short story, "Matamorphosis of Joe Pereira" after she moved from Kaylan to Mumbai, and also wrote poetry about her transition to the city during that time.^[3] After visiting the Tapi estuary at Surat in 2007 and then attending her first fiction-writing workshop, she wrote the story "Tropical Estuary."^[5] In 2013, she participated in a Tall Tales project storytelling event, and shared a story from her personal experience.^[6][7] Her first book of short fiction, The Arithmetic of Breasts and Other Stories, was published in 2014 and shortlisted for The Digital Book of the Year Award 2014, by Publishing Next, Goa.^[8][9] In 2014, she was one of the founders of Cappuccino Readings (CR), which organized a series of poetry readings at a Starbucks in Horniman Circle in Mumbai.^[10][11] Around this time, she also participated in Poetry Couture, an association formed by Raghavendra Madhu to promote poetry readings in India,^[12] and was co-editor of Neesah Magazine.^[13]

In 2015, she was selected to participate as a writer-in-residence in the 2015 Fall residency program of the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa.^[14][15][16] In a January 2016 interview, she discussed elements of realism and magic realism in her work, and said her writing is influenced by Haruki Murakami.^[17]

Her first book of poetry, Four Degrees of Separation, was published in 2016, and includes poetry written during her transition to Mumbai.^[3][18] In 2016, two of her poems, "Biscooti Love" and "Knotted Inside Me", were included in the anthology 40 under 40: an Anthology of Post-Globalization Poetry.^[19]

She was the 2016-2017 Charles Wallace Writer's fellow at the University of Stirling, Scotland.^[20][21] In 2017, she founded the Arcs-of-a-Circle Artists' Residency in Mumbai, and organized its first ten-day event for 12 artists in December 2017 with funding support from the US Consulate, Mumbai.^[1] In 2017 and 2018, she contributed to the Joao Roque Literary Journal as the poetry editor.^[22]

Rochelle practices and promotes the Japanese short poetry form haibun through workshops.^[1][23] In 2018, she published a collection of haibun, Paper Asylum.^[24][25]

In 2018, a poem she wrote during her Iowa residency, Skirt, was adapted into a poetry film by Philippa Collie Cousins for the Visible Poetry Project.^[26][27]

She co-edited the 2018 Goan-Irish anthology, Goa: A Garland of Poems, with Gabriel Rosenstock.^[28] Her collection of short stories, Bombay Hangovers, was published in 2021. Her short story "Honour" was included in The Punch Magazine’s Anthology of New Writing: Select Short Stories by Women Writers, also published in 2021.^[29]

As actor

Rochelle debuted in a character role in the Tamil feature-length film, Taramani, directed by Ram.^[30][31]

Selected work

Poetry

• Four Degrees of Separation, Paperwall, March 2016 ISBN 978-9382749363^[32][33]
• Paper Asylum, Copper Coin Publishing, May 2018 ISBN 978-9384109264^[34]

Short stories

• The Arithmetic of Breasts And Other Stories, CreateSpace, 2014, Rochelle Potkar, 2019 ISBN 978-9351749004^[35]

• Bombay Hangovers, Vishwakarma Publications ISBN 978-8195012633^[36]

Novel

• Dreams of Déjà vu (2017) ISBN 978-1520402826^[37]

Anthologies

• 40 Under 40: An Anthology of Post-Globalisation, Poetrywalla, 2016 ISBN 978-9382749448^[38]
• The Best Asian Short Stories, Kitab International, 2017 ISBN 978-9811149702^[21]
• Goa: A Garland of Poems, The Onslaught Press, 2017 ISBN 978-1912111664
• Iowa River: A Selection of Contemporary International Poetry ISBN 978-1-988483-26-9
• 100 Poems Are Not Enough, Walking BookFairs, 2018 ISBN 978-8193646939
• Writing Language, Culture, and Development: Africa Vs Asia: Volume 1, 2018 ISBN 9780797484931
• The Punch Magazine Anthology of New Writing: Select Short Stories by Women Writers, Niyogi Books, 2021 ISBN 978-9391125318^[39]

Honors and awards

Short fiction

• Shortlist, Digital Book of the Year Award, 2014, by Publishing Next, Goa, for The Arithmetic of Breasts And Other Stories
• Winner, Open Road Review Short Story Prize, 2016, for "The Leaves of the Deodar"^[40]

Poetry

• Shortlist, RL Poetry Award 2013, for "Knotted inside me"
• Second place, Wordweavers contest 2014 for "Swing"
• Shortlist, the Gregory O' Donoghue International Poetry Prize, 2018, for The girl from Lal Bazaar^[41][42]
• Shortlist, 2017 Hungry Hill Writing Competition, Ireland, for "Cellular: P.O.W."^[43]
• Third place at the David Burland Poetry Prize 2017, for "Ground up"^[44]
• Shortlist, Eyewar 8th Fortnight Poetry Prize by Todd Swift, for "Atonement"
• Winner of the 2018 Norton Girault Literary Prize for "To Daraza"^[45]
• First runner up, Great India Poetry Contest, for "War Specials"^[46]

See also

•  Poetry portal
•  India portal

• List of female poets
• List of Indian poets
• Indian poetry in English
• Goan literature

References

1. Rajpal, Seema (24 January 2018). "Poet Rochelle Potkar began an artist residency last year and here's why it was a good idea". The New Indian Express. from the original on 7 September 2018. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
2. Sripathi, Apoorva (2 December 2014). "A thirst for words". The Hindu. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
3. Sinha, Dipanjan (5 May 2016). "Mumbai author's book of poems explores her transition to the city centre from Kalyan". Mid-Day. from the original on 4 July 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
4. "Bio". Rochelle Potkar. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
5. "The core of life is to find the flame: Rochelle Potkar". PlanetRadiocity.com. 19 August 2016. from the original on 31 March 2017. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
6. "Telling Tales in Mumbai". Wall Street Journal. 16 July 2013. from the original on 26 October 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
7. Ansari, Humaira (11 July 2013). "Change of scene". Hindustan Times. from the original on 8 September 2018. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
8. "Publishing Next declares shortlist". PrintWeek India. 7 July 2016. from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
9. Mitter, Suprita (24 July 2015). "Mumbai: Poem by ad professional creates stir for use of F-word". Mid-Day. from the original on 10 June 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
10. Behrawala, Krutika (22 April 2015). "Mumbai's got a new brew". Mid-Day. from the original on 10 June 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
11. Silgardo, Dustin. "In Mumbai, the poetry never ends". Live Mint. from the original on 17 March 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
12. "Pens and Palettes: An Afternoon Of Poetry". Indian Express. 30 March 2015. from the original on 22 June 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
13. "Literature: Better Than Politics at Fostering Cultural Understanding". Iowa Public Radio. 25 April 2016. from the original on 23 April 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
14. Nissen, Samantha (2 February 2016). "Rochelle Potkar on Going Home". Iwp.uiowa.edu. International Writing Program. from the original on 27 June 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
15. "Panel Discussion On 'Girl Rising'" (PDF). International Exchange Alumni (May – November 2015, India). US Department of State: 30. (PDF) from the original on 22 February 2017. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
16. "Putting Childhood Back into the Child: Rights and Realities of Children In India". Iowa City Foreign Relation Council. 17 September 2015. from the original on 26 June 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
17. Afreen, Saima (12 January 2016). . Hyderabad: New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 16 August 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
18. . New Indian Express. 19 April 2016. Archived from the original on 16 August 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
19. Das, Nabita (28 May 2016). "How 40 poets under 40 are writing India of the 1980s and 1990s". Scroll.in. from the original on 30 June 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
20. "Charles Wallace Fellowship". University of Stirling. from the original on 7 September 2018. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
21. "What To Expect". New Indian Express. 22 January 2018. from the original on 7 September 2018. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
22. "Joao Roque Literary Journal". from the original on 10 October 2018. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
23. Patkar, Rochelle (3 July 2016). "You know the haiku? Now meet the haibun, the other Japanese form". Scroll.in. from the original on 31 March 2017. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
24. Chandani, Priyanka (27 June 2018). "High on Haibun". Deccan Chronicle. from the original on 7 September 2018. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
25. "Word maps". Pune Mirror. 25 August 2018. from the original on 7 September 2018. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
26. "About a skirt". Mid-Day. 13 April 2018. from the original on 7 September 2018. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
27. "Skirt from Visible Poetry Project". visiblepoetryproject.com. 30 April 2018. from the original on 7 September 2018. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
28. Writing Language, Culture, and Development: Africa Vs Asia. Mwanaka Media and Publishing. 19 June 2018. p. xvii. ISBN 9780797484931.
29. Rayaan, Mohammed (8 March 2022). "How Shireen Quadri rounded women authors to bring out an anthology during the pandemic". The Hindu Business Line. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
30. K, Janani (7 January 2017). "Donning a new hat". Deccan Chronicle. from the original on 31 March 2017. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
31. Rajendran, Sowmya (7 February 2017). "Actor, writer, poet: Meet Rochelle Potkar from the 'Taramani' cast". The News Minute. from the original on 31 March 2017. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
32. "Thought provoking poetry". The Hindu. 25 June 2015.
33. Reviews of Four Degrees of Separation
    • Brahmachari, Goirick (30 April 2016). "Book Review: Personal poems that evoke a sense of the universal". The Sunday Guardian. from the original on 6 June 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
    • Daruwalla, Keki N. (21 October 2017). "Vodka does not 'go on'". The Hindu. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
34. Reviews of Paper Asylum
    • Chandani, Priyanka (27 June 2018). "High on Haibun". Deccan Chronicle. from the original on 7 September 2018. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
    • Kidwai, Shafey (8 June 2018). "A welcome intersection". The Hindu.
    • G, Akila. "'Paper Asylum'". Muse India. ISSN 0975-1815. from the original on 7 September 2018. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
35. Reviews of The Arithmetic of Breasts And Other Stories
    • Bhattacharjee, Dr. Ratan (12 October 2015). "A woman writer's bold voice: The Arithmetic of Breasts and Other Stories". Merinews. from the original on 26 March 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
    • Anjum, Zafar (1 September 2015). "Kitaab Review: The Arithmetic of Breasts and Other Stories by Rochelle Potkar". Kitaab.org. from the original on 7 August 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
36. Reviews of Bombay Hangovers
    • Karnoor, Maithreyi (25 April 2021). "'Bombay Hangovers': Stories that compulsively narrate the routine lives of the city's residents". Scroll.in. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
    • Dhoot, Vikas (26 June 2021). "The odour of dreams: Vikas Dhoot reviews Rochelle Potkar's 'Bombay Hangovers'". The Hindu. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
    • Gupta, Kinshuk (12 September 2021). "Smell the spirit of Bombay in the margins of these gritty stories". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
    • Hasan, Lamat R (2 December 2021). "Review: Bombay Hangovers by Rochelle Potkar". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
37. "Voicing against social evils through poetry". The Hans India. from the original on 31 July 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
38. Sinha, Dipanjan (7 July 2016). "40 Under 40 is a collection of poems that relive the last few decades". Mid-Day. from the original on 4 July 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
39. Reviews of The Punch Magazine Anthology of New Writing
    • Khan, Abdullah (19 May 2022). "A woman's word: Abdullah Khan reviews 'The Punch Magazine Anthology of New Writing'". The Hindu. Retrieved 10 February 2023. We travel from Kashmir to Mumbai as Rochelle Potkar introduces us to Purana, a washerwoman, and her struggle to keep herself alive while discharging her familial responsibilities. Written poetically, the story touches you: Potkar is not only an accomplished poet but she can do wonders with fiction too.
    • Mujumdar, Sonali (25 February 2022). "Review: The Punch Magazine Anthology of New Writing edited by Shireen Quadri". The Hindustan Times. Retrieved 10 February 2023. Rochelle Potkar's Honour uses a fitting metaphor for the sorry tale of a washerwoman from the Dhobi Ghat of central Mumbai, battling the odds of life.
    • Basu, Kankana (6 March 2022). "Stories with a Punch". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 12 February 2023. Rochelle Patkar's competent pen takes us down the slippery pathways of Mahalaxmi's (in) famous dhobi ghat, the gradual chill in the bones having all to do with the unfurling of events thereafter.
    • Sharma, Aradhika (20 March 2022). "Expressions from across the world merge in 'The Punch Magazine Anthology of New Writing'". The Tribune (Chandigarh). Retrieved 10 February 2023.
40. "Winner, Open Road Review Short Story Prize 2016 – In Partnership with NHP Centre". OpenRoadReview. 14 October 2016. from the original on 31 March 2017. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
41. "The girl from Lal Bazar by Rochelle Potkar". munsterlit.ie. Munster Literature Centre. from the original on 7 September 2018. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
42. "The Gregory O' Donoghue International Poetry Prize". Munster Literature Centre. from the original on 30 August 2018. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
43. "Hungry Hill Writing Competitions". www.hungryhillwriting.com. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
44. "The David Burland Poetry Prize 2017". from the original on 19 August 2018. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
45. "Norton Girault Literary Prize". Barely South Review. 19 July 2016. from the original on 10 October 2018. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
46. Kidwai, Shafey (4 January 2019). "Life and death in an unequal world". The Hindu. ProQuest 2162939447

External links

• Official website
• Writing is addiction, catharsis, therapy (Interview at The Goan)
• "Take My Word For It!". Afternoon. 6 December 2016. from the original on 26 July 2018. Retrieved 30 March 2017.