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Divya Victor

ディヴャ・ヴィクター

Divya Victor

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
Nagercoil, India
Nationality
India, United States
Languages
English, Tamil
Residence History
Nagercoil (birthplace) → Buffalo (University at Buffalo) → Singapore (Nanyang Technological University) → East Lansing (resides; Michigan State University) → Los Angeles (exhibitions and residencies)

Career

Occupations
Poet, Professor
Active Years
2009-
Affiliations
University at Buffalo (faculty), Nanyang Technological University (visitor/residency), Michigan State University (associate professor/faculty)

Education

Towson University
English
Degree: B.S. (English)
Country: United States
Temple University
Creative Writing (Poetry)
Degree: M.A.
Country: United States
University at Buffalo (SUNY)
English
Degree: Ph.D.
Country: United States

Awards

PEN America Open Book Award
2022
Work: Curb
Organization: PEN America
Result: Winner
Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award
2022
Work: Curb
Organization: Kingsley and Kate Tufts Foundation
Result: Winner
Bob Kaufman Award
Work: Natural Subjects
Organization: Unknown
Result: Winner
Mark Diamond Research Fund Award
2012
Organization: University at Buffalo
Result: Winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Curb

2021 Poetry

An experimental poetry collection that explores history, coloniality, and the violences of cartography, interrogating memory and spatial politics through archival materials and place names.

colonialismmigrationmaps and spacehistorical memory

Kith

2017 Poetry

A book that poetically explores relationships, solidarity, and social bonds, using wit and compassion to map dynamics between individuals and communities.

communityrelationindividual and history

Unsub

2015 Poetry

A shorter collection composed of language experiments and fragmentary images.

language experimentfragmentation

Natural Subjects

2014 Poetry

A work that questions boundaries between language and subject matter and reflects political and social issues poetically.

language and subjectivitypolitical poetry

Things to Do with Your Mouth

2013 Poetry

An early collection dealing with the sound of language, speech, and corporeality in experimental poems.

corporealitysonics of language

Bibliography

  • Curb
  • Kith
  • Unsub
  • Natural Subjects
  • Things to Do with Your Mouth
  • Scheingleichheit (German edition)
  • Semblance
  • Reconfiliating: Conversations with Conceptual-Affiliated Writers
  • Swift Taxidermies 1919-1922
  • Say Hello to Your Last Chapbook
  • Partial Derivative of the Unnamable
  • Goodbye, John! On John Baldessari
  • Punch
  • Partial Dictionary of the Unnamable
  • Partial Directory of the Unnamable
  • Hellocasts by Charles Reznikoff
  • Sutures

Style & Themes

Literary Style
experimental poeticsarchival methodologypolitical/critical poetryfragmentary and compilatory style
Recurring Motifs
maps and place namestraces of colonialismimmigrant experiencelanguage and the body

Legacy

Divya Victor is recognized for archival and experimental poetics that interrogate colonialism, memory, and spatial politics. Winning major awards for Curb, she is regarded as an important contemporary poetic voice.

Museums

  • Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (has presented work) Los Angeles, United States
  • National Gallery Singapore (has presented work) Singapore
  • Museum of Modern Art (has presented work) New York, United States

Archives

  • UC San Diego — Archive for New Poetry (Riverrun Fellowship)

Quotes

  • "a remarkable book of poetry…a stunning historical document"
    Source: PEN America (judges' citation for PEN Open Book Award) (2022)
  • "Layered, rich, and epic…incredible collection that must be read and re-read."
    Source: Cathy Park Hong (review) (2021)

Trivia

  • Won PEN America Open Book Award and Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award for Curb.
  • Has served as an editor for Jacket2.
  • Was a Riverrun Fellow at UC San Diego's Archive for New Poetry.