About MAPS by Matwaala Ambassador Zilka Joseph
The Matwaala Anthology of South Asian Diaspora Poets (MAPS) showcased poets who had participated in the Matwaala South Asian Diaspora Poetry Festivals which were organized and hosted by co-founders Usha Akella and Pramila Venkateswaran, and held from 2015-2019 in Austin and New York respectively.
In 2019, I had the pleasure of working on this important anthology as co-editor with Pramila Venkateswaran, professor at Nassau Community College, Nassau, New York. We gathered poems from participants and presenters at Matwaala festivals across five decades, and the result was a vibrant blend of writing from established and mid-career poets, as well as newer voices who are making a mark in the literary worlds in US and/or UK, and in India. This anthology exhibits the range of subject matter, styles, traditions, experimentation, and the varied interests and backgrounds of South Asian diaspora poets. It breaks the stereotype and the mold that has been created by the West of what South Asian poets should be and what they should be writing about. Included in this collection are a couple of trailblazing Bombay poets, such as the late Keki Daruwalla and late Saleem Peeradina, who laid the ground work for Indian poetry in English, and inspired generations of poets and writers now scattered across the globe.
– Zilka Joseph, January, 2025
In 2019, I had the pleasure of working on this important anthology as co-editor with Pramila Venkateswaran, professor at Nassau Community College, Nassau, New York. We gathered poems from participants and presenters at Matwaala festivals across five decades, and the result was a vibrant blend of writing from established and mid-career poets, as well as newer voices who are making a mark in the literary worlds in US and/or UK, and in India. This anthology exhibits the range of subject matter, styles, traditions, experimentation, and the varied interests and backgrounds of South Asian diaspora poets. It breaks the stereotype and the mold that has been created by the West of what South Asian poets should be and what they should be writing about. Included in this collection are a couple of trailblazing Bombay poets, such as the late Keki Daruwalla and late Saleem Peeradina, who laid the ground work for Indian poetry in English, and inspired generations of poets and writers now scattered across the globe.
– Zilka Joseph, January, 2025