Reetika Gina Vazirani (9 August 1962 – 16 July 2003) was an

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

immigrant

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

and

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

Life

Vazirani was born in

Patiala, India Patiala () is a city in southeastern Punjab, India, Punjab, northwestern India. It is the fourth largest city in the state and is the administrative capital of Patiala district. Patiala is located around the ''Qila Mubarak, Patiala, Qila Mubar ...

in 1962. She was six-years-old when her family left Punjab in 1968 as part of a wave of Indians coming to the United States after its immigration laws loosened in 1965. The family settled, after a few interim stops, in White Oak, Illinois. Her father, Sunder Vazirani, was an oral surgeon who received his graduate education at the University of Illinois, later to become the assistant dean at Howard University's dental school. Reetika graduated from Springbrook High School in

Silver Spring, Maryland Silver Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in southeastern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, near Washington, D.C. Although officially Unincorporated area, unincorporated, it is an edge city with a population of 81,015 at the 2020 ...

and continued her education at

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a Private university, private Women's colleges in the United States, historically women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henr ...

, graduating in 1984. It is there she received a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship to travel to India,

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. She later earned an M.F.A. from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

as a Hoyns Fellow. Vazirani lived in Trenton,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, with her son Jehan, near the poet

Yusef Komunyakaa Yusef Komunyakaa (born James William Brown; April 29, 1941) is an American poet who teaches at New York University and is a member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers. Komunyakaa is a recipient of the 1994 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award, for '' ...

, who was her partner and Jehan's father. There she taught

creative writing Creative writing is any writing that goes beyond the boundaries of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on craft and technique, such as narrative structure, character ...

as a visiting faculty member at

The College of New Jersey The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) is a public university in Ewing Township, New Jersey. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education. Established in 1855 as the New Jersey State Normal School, TCNJ was the first normal school, ...

. At the time of her death, Vazirani was Writer-in-Residence at the

College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary (abbreviated as W&M) is a public university, public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1693 under a royal charter issued by King William III of England, William III and Queen ...

Williamsburg, Virginia Williamsburg is an Independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It had a population of 15,425 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located on the Virginia Peninsula, Williamsburg is in the northern par ...

, with the intent of joining the English department at

Emory University Emory University is a private university, private research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1836 as Emory College by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory. Its main campu ...

. On 16 July 2003, Vazirani was housesitting in the

Chevy Chase, Maryland Chevy Chase () is the colloquial name of an area that includes a town, several incorporated villages, and an unincorporated census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland; and one adjoining neighborhood in northwest Washington, D ...

, home of novelist Howard Norman and his wife, the poet,

Jane Shore Elizabeth "Jane" Shore (née Lambert; 1445 – c. 1527) was one of the many mistresses of King Edward IV of England. She became the best known in history by being later accused of conspiracy by the future King Richard III and compelled to do p ...

. There, Vazirani killed her two-year-old son, Jehan, by stabbing him multiple times, then fatally stabbed herself.

Works

Vazirani was the author of two poetry collections, ''White Elephants'', winner of the 1995 Barnard New Women Poets Prize, and ''World Hotel'' (

Copper Canyon Press Copper Canyon Press is an independent, non-profit small press, founded in 1972 by Sam Hamill, Tree Swenson, Bill O'Daly, and Jim Gautney, specializing exclusively in the publication of poetry. It is located in Port Townsend, Washington. Copper C ...

, 2002), winner of the 2003 Anisfield-Wolf book award. She was a contributing and advisory editor for '' Shenandoah'', a book review editor for ''Callaloo'', and a senior poetry editor for ''Catamaran'', a journal of South Asian literature. She translated poetry from

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

and had some of her poems translated into Italian. Her poem "Mouth-Organs and Drums" was published in the anthology ''Poets Against the War'' (

Nation Books Type Media Center (formerly The Nation Institute) is a nonprofit media organization that was previously associated with ''The Nation'' magazine. It sponsors fellows, hosts forums, publishes books and investigative reporting, and awards several ann ...

, 2003). Vazirani's final collection of poetry, ''Radha Says'', edited by Leslie McGrath and

Ravi Shankar Ravi Shankar (; born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, sometimes spelled as Rabindra Shankar Chowdhury; 7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) was an Indian sitar, sitarist and composer. A sitar virtuoso, he became the world's best-known expert of Hin ...

, was published in 2009 by Drunken Boat Media.

Awards

* 2003,

Anisfield-Wolf Book Award The Anisfield-Wolf Book Award is an American literary award dedicated to honoring written works that make important contributions to the understanding of racism and the appreciation of the rich diversity of human culture. Established in 1935 by Clev ...

* 1995,

Barnard Women Poets Prize The Barnard Women Poets Prize is a literary award in the United States for an English language book of poetry. From 1986 to 2001, the prize was a first-book award called the Barnard New Women Poets Prize. Winners had their poetry book published unde ...

She was a recipient of a Discovery/The Nation Award, a

Pushcart Prize The Pushcart Prize is an American literary prize published by Pushcart Press that honors the best "poetry, short fiction, essays or literary whatnot" published in the small presses over the previous year. Magazine and small book press editors are ...

, the

Poets & Writers Poets & Writers, Inc. is one of the largest nonprofit literary organizations in the United States serving poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers. The organization publishes a bi-monthly magazine called ''Poets & Writers Magazine'' ...

Exchange Program Award, fellowships from the Bread Loaf and Sewanee writers conferences, the Glenna Luschei/Prairie Schooner Award for her essay, "The Art of Breathing," included in the anthology ''How We Live our Yoga'' (Beacon 2001). She also had a poem in ''

The Best American Poetry 2000 ''The Best American Poetry 2000'' (), a volume in ''The Best American Poetry series'', was edited by David Lehman and by guest editor Rita Dove. In her introduction, Dove defended the idea that poets should be politically committed: " poets ca ...

''.

References

External links

The initial report in the Washington Post
about the murder/suicide
An article in the Washington Post
speculating about the murder/suicide
Born
a poem from her final collection on Drunken Boat.

, with two poems
The text of Mouth-Organs and Drums
from "Poets Against War"

a poem by Uma Parameswaran about Reetika Vazirani

Three Poems by Reetika Vazirani.

Daughter-Mother-Maya-Seeta by Reetika Vazirani {{DEFAULTSORT:Vazirani, Reetika 1962 births 2003 murders in the United States 2003 suicides 2003 deaths 20th-century American poets 20th-century American women writers 20th-century Indian poets 20th-century Indian translators 20th-century Indian women writers American female murderers American murderers of children American people of Sindhi descent American writers of Indian descent American women poets American women writers of Indian descent College of William & Mary faculty English-language poets from India Filicides in the United States Indian emigrants to the United States Indian women poets Murder–suicides in the United States People from Patiala Poets from New Jersey Poets from Punjab, India Suicides by sharp instrument in the United States Suicides in Maryland Urdu–English translators Watson Fellows Wellesley College alumni Women writers from Punjab, India Writers from Trenton, New Jersey