Sudesh Mishra is a contemporary Fijian- Australian

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 ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wr ...

and

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, f ...

Career

Sudesh Mishra was born in Fiji into an

Indo-Fijian Indo-Fijians or Indian-Fijians (also known as Fiji Indians) are Fijian citizens of Indian descent, and include people who trace their ancestry to various regions of the Indian subcontinent.Girmit by Suresh Prasad Although Indo-Fijians constit ...

family. Coming to Australia to study he studied at The University of Wollongong and went on to complete a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

in English literature at

Flinders University Flinders University is a public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia, with a footprint extending across 11 locations in South Australia and the Northern Territory. Founded in 1966, it was named in honour of British navigator ...

. He has published several volumes of poetry, the first of which, ''Rahu'' (means

Rahu Rāhu (Sanskrit: राहु, 16px, ☊) is one of the nine major celestial bodies ( navagraha) in Hindu texts and the king of meteors. It represents the ascension of the moon in its precessional orbit around the earth, also referred as th ...

, the sun eclipse caused by the

Asura Asuras (Sanskrit: असुर) are a class of beings in Indic religions. They are described as power-seeking clans related to the more benevolent Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism. In its Buddhist context, the word is sometimes translated ...

in the

Hindu mythology Hindu mythology is the body of myths and literature attributed to, and espoused by, the adherents of the Hindu religion, found in Hindu texts such as the Vedic literature, epics like ''Mahabharata'' and ''Ramayana'', the Puranas, and r ...

), received the

Harri Jones Memorial Prize for Poetry The Harri Jones Memorial Prize for Poetry is an annual prize awarded by the University of Newcastle, Australia, to “an Australian poet, not yet 36 years of age, whose work in the field of poetry is judged to be outstanding”. The Prize is name ...

in 1988. His writing commonly treats events in his home country, such as the 1987 coup, from an ironic perspective. In 2003 he received an Asialink Literature Residency at

Jawaharlal Nehru University Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is a public major research university located in New Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The university is known for leading faculties and r ...

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the NCT Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati B ...

. He is currently Head of the School of Pacific Arts, Communication and Education (SPACE) at

University of the South Pacific The University of the South Pacific (USP) is a public research university with locations spread throughout a dozen countries in Oceania. Established in 1968, the university is organised as an intergovernmental organisation and is owned by the gov ...

. He was an Associate Professor in Creative Writing at

Deakin University Deakin University is a public university in Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1974, the university was named after Alfred Deakin, the second Prime Minister of Australia. Its main campuses are in Melbourne's Burwood suburb, Geelong Waurn P ...

in Australia and has taught literature at

Stirling University The University of Stirling (, gd, Oilthigh Shruighlea (abbreviated as Stir or Shruiglea, in post-nominals) is a public university in Stirling, Scotland, founded by royal charter in 1967. It is located in the Central Belt of Scotland, built ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

and

Suva Suva () is the capital and largest city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rewa Province, Central Di ...

campus.

Bibliography

Poetry *''Rahu'' (1987) *''Tandava'' (Meanjin, 1992) *''Memoirs of a Reluctant Traveller'' (Wakefield, 1994) *''Diaspora and the difficult art of dying'' (University of Otago, 2002) Criticism *''Preparing faces : modernism and Indian poetry in English'' (CRNLE, 1995) *''Diaspora Criticism (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2006) *''No Sign is an Island'' (2000)

External links

"A beautiful prospect
from New Internationalist Magazine

from Sport Magazine
2 poems
at NZEPC Indo-Fijian writers Australian poets Fijian emigrants to Australia Australian people of Indo-Fijian descent Living people Fijian Hindus Australian Hindus Flinders University alumni Academic staff of the University of the South Pacific Academics of the University of Stirling Academic staff of Deakin University Academic staff of Jawaharlal Nehru University Year of birth missing (living people) {{Fiji-bio-stub