Ep 61: Shikha Malaviya: Navigating a Poetic Odyssey from the U.K. to California Championing Social Justice

Shikha (Saklani) Malaviya, a poet, writer, and publisher, was born in the U.K. and raised in Minnesota and India. Co-founder of The (Great) Indian Poetry Collective, Shikha champions powerful voices from India and the Indian diaspora through a mentorship model press. Her involvement as an AWP (Association of Writers and Writing Professionals) poetry mentor and as a Mosaic America Fellow underscore her commitment to nurturing emerging talents and fostering cultural collaboration.

Shikha has released notable works such as "In Her Own Voice: Poems of Anandibai Joshee" and "Geography of Tongues," where the latter was acclaimed and featured at events like the Bangalore Literature Festival and Times of India Literary Carnival. Shikha's passion for poetry intersects with social change, which is evident through her engagement with initiatives like Greenpeace India's solar energy poem and the Sankara Eye Foundation's eye donation campaign.

Shikha has been a featured TEDx speaker and was selected as the Poet Laureate of San Ramon, California, in 2016. Her poetry has earned a Pushcart Prize nomination and has been showcased in fine publications such as Catamaran, PLUME, and Prairie Schooner.

After completing degrees in liberal studies, creative writing, and mass communications at the University of Minnesota, Shikha now resides in the San Francisco Bay Area. She engages with the poetry community to use poetry as a force for societal change.

Key themes emerging out of our conversation:

• Recognizing poetry's early power
• Poetry as a personal and universal purpose
• Personal narration of poems from her book
• Embracing poetry as a meaningful profession
• The profound impact of Khalil Gibran's "The Prophet."
• Celebrating Indian heritage, respecting diverse cultures
• Navigating racism as one of the few brown people in her school
• The inspiration behind "In Her Own Voice: Poems of Anandibai Joshee."
• Embrace feedback as a gift, evolve purpose and genre in poetry.
• Do what you love; if you love something enough, it will take care of you.

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