Elizabeth Gilbert was once an "unpublished diner waitress," devastated by rejection letters. And yet, in the wake of the success of 'Eat, Pray, Love,' she found herself identifying strongly with her former self. With beautiful insight, Gilbert reflects on why success can be as disorienting as failure and offers a simple -- though hard -- way to carry on, regardless of outcomes.
Thursday, July 31, 2014
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Monday, July 28, 2014
Sunday, July 27, 2014
Saturday, July 26, 2014
365 Days Of Inspiration!
I can see clearly now the rain is gone.
I can see all obstacles in my way.
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind.
It's gonna be a bright (bright)
bright (bright) sunshiny day.
It's gonna be a bright (bright)
bright (bright) sunshiny day.
I can see all obstacles in my way.
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind.
It's gonna be a bright (bright)
bright (bright) sunshiny day.
It's gonna be a bright (bright)
bright (bright) sunshiny day.
Friday, July 25, 2014
Thursday, July 24, 2014
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Monday, July 21, 2014
Tête-à-Tête With Lavanya Sankaran
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| Lavanya Sankaran |
Lavanya’s writing has won several awards, including Barnes and Noble Discover New Writers, and Poets and Writers’ Best First Fiction Award.
Her opinion pieces and fiction have appeared in The New York
Times, The Guardian and The Atlantic, among others. Lavanya sponsors the annual
Lavanya Sankaran Writing Fellowship at the Sangam Writers Residency which she
hopes will encourage new writers in India.
Recently Lavanya’s first book was included in a list on
Huffington Post titled 10 Incredible Books By South Asian Writers.
Suprose is truly honored to feature Lavanya Sankaran in it's Tête-à-Tête series.
You are an investment banker turned fiction writer? How and why did
that transition happen?
I’ve been a reader and a writer all my life. Alongside, I’ve
done lots of other things: travelled and lived around the world; worked in fast
food cafes and swept floors and cleaned bathrooms for a living; did a short
stint in investment banking in New York and consulting in India; engaged with
parenthood and family. All of this has provided grist for the writing mill.
Banking was just one of the distant footnotes, never
anything major.
Did you go back to school, take some courses to make this transition
happen?
Writing for me was an organic, private process that I kept
to myself. For a long time, my biggest instruction came from the books I read
and, of course, I learnt from my own writing efforts. I did finally attend some
short workshops in Provincetown – but this was only after my writing had
matured and I had found a distinct writerly voice. But it was wonderful to get
feedback from other writers in this “workshop” environment, and some of the
friendships I made linger till this day.
Your first book was a collection of short stories, that was received very
well. Hope Factory is your first novel. How did the switch from short stories
to novel happen?
Quite naturally. I had been wanting to try my hand at a
novel after my short stories were done. My publishers liked the idea as well –
which didn’t hurt.
What are some challenges of each of these two forms? Which one of these
has a special place in your heart?
They are very different from each other – with somewhat
different skill sets. A great short story functions like an expanded poem; it
the moment of arrival; the unpacking of a certain moment in a character’s life.
It is mood and moment. A meditation on truth. A revelation. A novel needs a
different energy, for it is the entire journey. The artist needs to manage that
journey, with truths veiled and unveiled, moments transitioning one to the
other until the journey is complete.
From a business standpoint, which one of these was easier or harder
to get out to market?
I left all the marketing decisions to my agents and
publishers in both cases. I have no natural instinct on book marketing, and
very little experience!
Who/what serves as your muse?
For the first two books, a changing, contemporary India was
the muse. I used Bangalore as the setting for my stories because it captures
perfectly the world I wanted to describe.
You participate in a writer’s organization in Pondicherry. Can you tell
us more about this organization and your involvement with it? How did you
become involved with this organization…
Sangam House (http://www.sangamhouse.org/)
is a wonderful writers residency set up by Arshia Sattar and DW Gibson. It
currently runs out of Nrityagram in Bangalore. Nrityagram is, of course, a
world famous dance Odissi dance school, and is a perfect setting for creativity
to flourish. I am not involved in the workings of Sangam House, but I am very
happy to provide the Lavanya Sankaran Writing Fellowship offered by them to
support new writing in India, and have done so since the inception of Sangam
House a few years ago.
Who/what did you read growing up?
Who didn’t I read? My parents had a library at home and
subscribed to one as well. When I was a child, I would sometimes read up to six
books a day. Real life had nothing on books; I very much lived to read.
What are some books/authors you like to read now?
I find myself balancing my reading list between contemporary
writers of literary fiction and old classics, and again between fiction and
non-fiction. I always make time for a good crime story, which is my favorite
relaxed-time reading.
What would we find on your to-read pile?
It changes every day.
What are you currently working on?
I am currently at work on both a novel and a collection of
short stories
Sunday, July 20, 2014
365 Days Of Inspiration!
This is an anonymous quote I found on the Internet. So true and hits home for so many creative professionals...Spread your wings and fly!
Saturday, July 19, 2014
Friday, July 18, 2014
Thursday, July 17, 2014
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
Monday, July 14, 2014
Sunday, July 13, 2014
365 Days Of Inspiration!
Creativity is a process! Keep at it...
Take 9.13 minutes to understand why you should keep at it. Watch for yourself...
"Most importantly, creators must push forward, whether the light bulb illuminates or not."
Take 9.13 minutes to understand why you should keep at it. Watch for yourself...
"Most importantly, creators must push forward, whether the light bulb illuminates or not."
Saturday, July 12, 2014
Friday, July 11, 2014
Thursday, July 10, 2014
365 Days Of Inspiration!
Just let go of whats not working, and find a different path to your dreams!!!
There is nothing wrong with finding a new road as long as the destination is the same....
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
365 Days Of Inspiration!
Everything is possible...
Here's why!
It's all about taking action. And keeping at it!
What are you waiting for?
Here's why!
It's all about taking action. And keeping at it!
What are you waiting for?
Monday, July 7, 2014
A.X. Ahmad's The Last Taxi Ride
In June last year Suprose did a Tête-à-Tête With A.X. Ahmad. This June he launched yet another thriller and that is the reason for reposting the link to his interview.
A.X. Ahmad's The Last Taxi Ride is a Bollywood thriller wrapped up inside a book. If you want to know more about this thrilling book, then you should watch this book trailer, in which Mr. Ahmad has a great little cameo!
This book received a wonderful review from The Boston Globe which says--
The last Taxi Ride promises to be a really fun read. A.X. Ahmad's interview with Suprose is here.
A.X. Ahmad's The Last Taxi Ride is a Bollywood thriller wrapped up inside a book. If you want to know more about this thrilling book, then you should watch this book trailer, in which Mr. Ahmad has a great little cameo!
This book received a wonderful review from The Boston Globe which says--
Himself an Indian immigrant, the Brooklyn, N.Y., and Washington, D.C.-based Ahmad does a wonderful job of conveying the vibrant underworld that has become Singh’s new life.The reviewer also adds-
This take also offers an intriguing glimpse inside the South Asian immigrant experience, rich in flavors and expressions that can conjure a memory or throw a character back in time. Ahmad plays up these evocations well...Read the full review here.
The last Taxi Ride promises to be a really fun read. A.X. Ahmad's interview with Suprose is here.
Sunday, July 6, 2014
Saturday, July 5, 2014
Friday, July 4, 2014
Thursday, July 3, 2014
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
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