https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Chitra_Banerjee_DivakaruniChitra Banerjee Divakaruni - Revision history2026-07-30T18:50:17ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=Chitra_Banerjee_Divakaruni&diff=471612&oldid=prevOlivaGabel6 at 04:51, 5 October 20252025-10-05T04:51:49Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|American professor, novelist, and poet (born 1956)}}<br />
{{Use British English|date=August 2014}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}}<br />
{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] --><br />
| image = ChitraBanerjeeDivakaruni.JPG <!-- only free-content images are allowed for depicting living people - see [[WP:NONFREE]] --><br />
| imagesize = 220px<br />
| name = Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni<br />
| caption = <br />
| pseudonym = <br />
| birth_name = Chitralekha Banerjee<br />
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1956}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/history/historians-miscellaneous-biographies/chitra-banerjee-divakaruni#3416300043|title=Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni|website=Encyclopedia.com|access-date=25 December 2022}}</ref><br />
| birth_place = [[Calcutta]], [[West Bengal]], India<br />
| death_date = <br />
| death_place = <br />
| occupation = Writer<br />
| nationality = American<br />
| education = [[University of Calcutta]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])<br>[[Wright State University]]<br>[[University of California, Berkeley]] ([[Doctor of Philosophy|PhD]])<br />
| period = <br />
| genre = Poetry, short stories, novels; fantasy, young adult, magical realism, historical fiction<br />
| subject = <br />
| movement = <br />
| notableworks = ''Arranged Marriage: Stories''<br/>''[[Mistress of Spices]]''<br/>''[[Sister of My Heart (novel)|Sister of My Heart]]''<br/>''[[The Palace of Illusions: A Novel|The Palace of Illusions]]''<br/>''[[One Amazing Thing]]''<br/>''[[The Conch Bearer]]''<br/>''[[The Mirror of Fire and Dreaming]]''<br/>''[[Independence (novel)|Independence]]''<br />
| influences = <br />
| influenced = <br />
| awards = [[American Book Award]]<br/>[[PEN Oakland awards|PEN Josephine Miles Literary Award]]<br />
| website = {{URL|www.chitradivakaruni.com}}<br />
| spouse = Murthy<br />
| children = 2<br />
}}<br />
'''Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni''' (born '''Chitralekha Banerjee''', 1956<ref>{{cite book |title= Asian American Short Story Writers: An A-to-Z Guide|last= Davis|first= Rocío G.|editor1-first= Guiyou|editor1-last= Huang|year= 2003|publisher= Greenwood Press|location= Westport, CT|isbn= 978-0-313-32229-7|page= 65|chapter=Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni (1956– )|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=skdEeK1SEAQC&pg=PA65}}</ref>) is an Indian-born American author, poet, and the Betty and Gene McDavid Professor of Writing at the [[University of Houston]] Creative Writing Program. Her short story collection, ''Arranged Marriage'', won an [[American Book Award]] in 1996. Two of her novels (''[[Mistress of Spices|The Mistress of Spices]]'' and ''[[Sister of My Heart (novel)|Sister of My Heart]]''), as well as a short story (''The Word Love)'' were adapted into films.<br />
<br />
Divakaruni's works are largely set in India and the United States, and often focus on the experiences of [[South Asian]] immigrants. She writes for children as well as adults, and has published novels in multiple [[genres]], including [[realistic fiction]], historical fiction, [[magical realism]], myth and [[fantasy]].<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://conservancy.umn.edu/bitstream/handle/11299/166154/Divakaruni%2c%20Chitra%20Banerjee.pdf|title=Voices from the Gaps: Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni|last=Bredemus|first=James Thomas|date=1999-04-04|website=conservancy.umn.edu|access-date=2020-02-07|df=dmy-all<br />
|hdl=11299/166154}}</ref><br />
<br />
==Early life and education==<br />
Divakaruni was born in [[Calcutta]], India. She received her B.A. from the [[University of Calcutta]] in 1976.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}} In the same year, she went to the United States to attend [[Wright State University]], where she received a master's degree. She received a PhD in English from the [[University of California, Berkeley]] in 1985 ([[Christopher Marlowe]] was the subject of her doctoral dissertation).<ref>{{Cite thesis|author=Chitralekha Divakaruni|url=http://oskicat.berkeley.edu/record=b13348453~S53|title=For danger is in words : changing attitudes to language in the plays of Christopher Marlowe|website=OskiCat - UC Berkeley Library Catalog|date=December 1984|access-date=2019-02-23|df=dmy-all}}</ref><br />
<br />
==Career==<br />
Divakaruni put herself through graduate school by taking on odd jobs, working as a babysitter, a store clerk, a bread slicer in a bakery, a laboratory assistant at [[Wright State University]], and a dining hall attendant at [[International House, Berkeley]]. She was a graduate teaching assistant at U.C. Berkeley. She taught in California at [[Foothill College]] and [[Diablo Valley College]]. She now lives and teaches in [[Texas]], where she is the McDavid Professor of Creative Writing at the [[University of Houston]] Creative Writing Program.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://uh.edu/class/news/archive/2019/october/department-english-creative-writing-program-professor-honored-among-houston-finest-authors/|title=Department of English Creative Writing Program Professor Honored Among Houston's Finest Authors|date=2019-10-01|website=University of Houston – College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences – uh.edu|access-date=2020-02-07|df=dmy-all}}</ref><br />
<br />
Divakaruni is the co-founder and former president of Maitri, a helpline founded in 1991 in [[San Francisco, California|San Francisco]] for [[South Asian]] women dealing with [[domestic abuse]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.weber.edu/weberjournal/Journal_Archives/Archive_C2/Vol_18_2/CDivakaruniConv.html|title=Writing As Spiritual Experience: A Conversation with Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni|last=Seshachari|first=Neila C.|date=Winter 2001|website=Weber Journal Archive|access-date=2019-06-08|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Divakaruni is on its advisory board and on the advisory board of Daya, a similar service in Houston. She has served on the board of Pratham Houston, an organisation working to bring literacy to disadvantaged Indian children{{when|date=December 2022}}, and is on their emeritus board.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Agarwal|first=Dr. Gunjan and Gunjan Kapil|date=December 2014|title=The Representation of Woman in Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's ''Doors, Affair'', and ''Meeting Mrinal''|url=http://www.the-criterion.com/V5/n6/GunjanKapil.pdf|journal=The Criterion|volume=5| issue = 6|page=77}}</ref><br />
<br />
==Works==<br />
===Fiction and poetry===<br />
Divakaruni began her writing career as a poet.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/books/i-see-my-writing-as-an-extension-of-my-activism-chitra-banerjee-divakaruni/story-mHVEc6mZRTksdTABF03PnN.html|title=I see my writing as an extension of my activism: Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni|last=Banerjee|first=Kaushani|date=2017-04-11|df=dmy-all|work=Hindustan Times|access-date=2020-02-07}}</ref> Her volumes of poetry include ''Black Candle'' and ''Leaving Yuba City''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/chitra-banerjee-divakaruni|title=Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni|website=poetryfoundation.org|access-date=2020-02-07|df=dmy-all}}</ref><br />
<br />
Her first collection of stories ''Arranged Marriage'' won an [[American Book Award]], a PEN Josephine Miles Award, and a Bay Area Book Reviewers Award.<ref name="OK 2021" /> Her major novels include ''The [[Mistress of Spices]]'', ''[[Sister of My Heart (novel)|Sister of My Heart]]'', ''Queen of Dreams'', ''One Amazing Thing'', ''[[The Palace of Illusions: A Novel|Palace of Illusions]]'', ''Oleander Girl'' and ''Before We Visit the Goddess''. She has also written a young adult fantasy series called ''The Brotherhood of the Conch'' which is located in India and draws on the culture and folklore of that region. The first book of the series, ''The Conch Bearer'' was nominated for the 2003 Bluebonnet Award.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}} The second book of the series, ''The Mirror of Fire and Dreaming'' came out in 2005 and the third and final book of the series, ''Shadowland'', was published in 2009.<br />
<br />
Divakaruni's novel ''The Palace of Illusions'', was a national best-seller for over a year in India and<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blogs.indiareads.com/views-and-reviews/palace-of-illusions-by-chitra-banerjee-divakaruni/ |title=Book Review: Palace of Illusions by Chitra Divakaruni @ INDIA reads Online Library cum Bookstore &#124; INDIAreads |access-date=2011-02-05|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110215125833/http://blogs.indiareads.com/views-and-reviews/palace-of-illusions-by-chitra-banerjee-divakaruni/ |archive-date=15 February 2011 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> is a re-telling of the [[Indian epic poetry|Indian epic]] ''The [[Mahabharata]]'' from [[Draupadi]]'s perspective.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050313/asp/calcutta/story_4482774.asp | archive-url=https://archive.today/20130203132519/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050313/asp/calcutta/story_4482774.asp | url-status=dead | archive-date=3 February 2013 | location=Calcutta, India | work=The Telegraph | first=Madhumita | last=Bhattacharyya | title=Dreams and dislocation | date=13 March 2005}}</ref><br />
<br />
Divakaruni's work has been published in ''[[The Atlantic Monthly]]'' and ''[[The New Yorker]]'', and her writing has been included in anthologies including the ''[[Best American Short Stories]]'', the ''[[O. Henry Award|O. Henry Prize Stories]]'', and the [[Pushcart Prize]] anthology. Her fiction has been translated into 29 languages, including Dutch, Hebrew, Indonesian, Bengali, Turkish and Japanese.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}<br />
<br />
===Film, television, theatre and opera===<br />
Divakaruni's novel ''The [[Mistress of Spices]]'' was released as a film [[The Mistress of Spices (film)|of the same name]] in 2005. It was directed by [[Paul Mayeda Berges]], with a script by Berges and his wife, [[Gurinder Chadha]].{{citation needed|date=December 2022}} Her novel ''Sister of my Heart'' was made into a television series by [[Suhasini Maniratnam]] in Tamil and aired in India, as ''Anbulla Snegithiye (Loving Friend)''. In 2018 the producers NR Pachisia und Dipankar Jojo Chaki secured the rights to a film adaption of ''[[The Palace of Illusions]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://scroll.in/reel/895908/film-adaptation-of-chitra-banerjee-divakarunis-novel-on-drapaudi-in-the-works|title=Entertainment News: Film adaptation of Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's novel on Drapaudi in the works|date=2018-09-26|website=scroll.in|access-date=2020-02-07}}</ref><br />
<br />
Divakaruni's story ''Clothes'' from the collection ''Arranged Marriage'' was adapted into play under the title ''Arranged Marriage'' by Peggy Shannon in 2004, 2010, and 2016.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://fusia.ca/canadian-premiere-of-award-winning-bollywood-play-arranged-marriage/|title=Canadian Premiere of Award-Winning Bollywood Play – Arranged Marriage|last=Dhanji|first=Aabida|df=dmy-all|date=2016-05-22|website=fusia.ca|access-date=2020-02-07}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ryerson.ca/news-events/podcasts/2016/08/peggy-shannon-arranged-marriage/|title=Podcast: Peggy Shannon on 'Arranged Marriage'|last=Sloan|first=Will|date=2016-05-12|website=Ryerson Today – ryerson.ca|access-date=2020-02-07|df=dmy-all}}</ref><br />
<br />
In 2013, Divakaruni wrote the libretto to a chamber opera for [[Houston Grand Opera]], ''River of Light'', about the life of an Indian woman in Houston. It premiered in 2014<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.indoamerican-news.com/houston-grand-operas-river-of-light-to-feature-libretto-by-chitra-divakaruni/|title=Houston Grand Opera's "River of Light" to Feature Libretto by Chitra Divakaruni|last=Kulkarni|first=Pramod|date=2013-12-12|website=indoamerican-news.com|access-date=2020-02-07|df=dmy-all}}</ref> with original compositions by Jack Perla<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://anopenbookblog.org/writers-opera-and-chitra-divakaraunis-river-of-light/|title=Writers, Opera, and Chitra Divakaruni's River of Light|date=2014-03-21|website=anopenbookblog.org|access-date=2020-02-07}}</ref> and was shown again in 2015 by the opera company Festival Opera, directed by Tanya Kane-Parry at the [[Oakland Asian Cultural Center]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sfcv.org/reviews/festival-opera/-lt-em-gt-river-of-light-lt-/em-gt-shines-at-festival-opera|title=River of Light Shines at Festival Opera|last=Wishnia|first=Rebecca|date=2015-11-16|website=San Francisco Classical Voice – sfcv.org|access-date=2020-02-07|df=dmy-all}}</ref><br />
<br />
''The Palace of Illusions'' was adapted into a play named ''Fire and Ice: Draupadi's Story'' by Joe DiSabatino and performed in India under his direction. A Bollywood movie with the title ''Mahabharat'', starring [[Deepika Padukone]] as Draupadi, is being prepared in India based on ''The Palace of Illusions''. The premiere was scheduled for 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.filmibeat.com/bollywood/news/2019/deepika-padukone-starrer-mahabharat-based-on-the-novel-the-palace-of-illusions/articlecontent-pf303283-291760.html|title=Deepika Padukone Starrer Mahabharat Based On The Novel 'The Palace Of Illusions'|last=Aishwarya|date=2019-11-14|website=filmibeat.com|access-date=2020-02-07|df=dmy-all}}</ref><br />
<br />
As of 2021, her novel ''One Amazing Thing'' has been optioned to become a Bollywood film.<ref name="OK 2021" /><br />
<br />
==Honors and awards==<br />
* 1996 [[American Book Award]] (''Arranged Marriage'')<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.beforecolumbusfoundation.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Aba2001prior.pdf|title=Previous Winners of the American Book Award|website=beforecolumbusfoundation.com|access-date=2020-02-07}}</ref><br />
* 1996 [[PEN Oakland awards|PEN Josephine Miles Literary Award]] (''Arranged Marriage'')<ref name="OK 2021">{{cite news |last1=OK |first1=Anand Raj |title=Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni: 'I never thought I'd be a writer' |url=https://gulfnews.com/friday/art-people/chitra-banerjee-divakaruni-i-never-thought-id-be-a-writer-1.2312208 |access-date=10 December 2022 |work=[[Gulf News]] |date=9 June 2021}}</ref><br />
* Bay Area Book Reviewers' Award (''Arranged Marriage'')<ref name="OK 2021"/><br />
* 1997 [[Pushcart Prize]] (''Leaving Yuba City: New and Selected Poems'')<ref name="Patel 2017">{{cite web |last1=Patel |first1=Nilu N. |title=Divakaruni, Chitra Banerjee |url=https://scholarblogs.emory.edu/postcolonialstudies/2014/06/10/divakaruni-chitra-banerjee/ |website=Postcolonial Studies @ Emory |publisher=scholarblogs.emory.edu |access-date=11 December 2022 |date=May 2017}}</ref><br />
* 2003 Pushcart Prize (''The Lives of Strangers'')<ref name="Patel 2017"/><br />
* 2007 Distinguished Writer Award from the South Asian Literary Association<ref name="Patel 2017"/><br />
<br />
== Publications ==<br />
=== Fiction ===<br />
* ''Arranged Marriage: Stories'' (1995)<ref>Reviews of ''Arranged Marriage: Stories''<br />
*{{cite news |title=Arranged Marriage: Stories |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780385483506 |access-date=10 December 2022 |work=[[Publishers Weekly]] |date=29 April 1996}}<br />
*{{cite news |title=Arranged Marriage |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/chitra-banerjee-divakaruni/arranged-marriage/ |access-date=10 December 2022 |work=[[Kirkus Reviews]] |date=1 July 1995}}</ref><br />
* ''[[Mistress of Spices (novel)|The Mistress of Spices]]'' (1997)<br />
* ''[[Sister of My Heart (novel)|Sister of My Heart]]'' (1999)<br />
* ''The Unknown Errors of our Lives'' (2001)<ref>Reviews of ''The Unknown Errors of our Lives''<br />
*{{cite news |title=The Unknown Errors of our Lives |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/chitra-banerjee-divakaruni/the-unknown-errors-of-our-lives/ |access-date=10 December 2022 |work=[[Kirkus Reviews]] |date=15 February 2001}}<br />
*{{cite news |title=The Unknown Errors of Our Lives |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780385497275 |access-date=10 December 2022 |work=[[Publishers Weekly]] |date=April 1, 2001}}<br />
*{{cite journal |last1=Aldama |first1=Frederick Luis |title=Reviewed Work: The Unknown Errors of Our Lives by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni |journal=[[World Literature Today]] |date=Winter 2002 |volume=76 |issue=1 |pages=112–113 |doi=10.2307/40157026|jstor=40157026 }}</ref><br />
* ''The Vine of Desire'' (2002)<ref>Reviews of ''The Vine of Desire''<br />
*{{cite news |title=The Vine of Desire |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/chitra-banerjee-divakaruni/the-vine-of-desire/ |access-date=10 December 2022 |work=[[Kirkus Reviews]] |date=15 November 2001}}<br />
*{{cite news |title=The Vine of Desire |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780385497299 |access-date=10 December 2022 |work=[[Publishers Weekly]] |date=26 November 2001}}<br />
*{{cite journal |last1=Aldama |first1=Frederick Luis |title=Reviewed Work: The Vine of Desire by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni |journal=[[World Literature Today]] |date=April–June 2003 |volume=77 |issue=1 |page=78 |doi=10.2307/40157799|jstor=40157799 }}</ref><br />
* ''Queen of Dreams'' (2004)<ref>Reviews of ''Queen of Dreams''<br />
*{{cite news |last1=Sahgal |first1=Tara |title=Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's 'Queen Of Dreams' is a modern American immigrant saga |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/society-and-the-arts/books/story/20041206-book-review-queen-of-dreams-by-chitra-banerjee-divakaruni-788925-2004-12-05|df=dmy-all |access-date=10 December 2022 |work=[[India Today]] |date=January 18, 2012}}<br />
*{{cite news |title=Queen of Dreams |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780385506823 |access-date=10 December 2022 |work=[[Publishers Weekly]] |date=9 August 2004}}<br />
*{{cite news |title=Queen of Dreams |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/chitra-banerjee-divakaruni/queen-of-dreams-2/ |access-date=10 December 2022 |work=[[Kirkus Reviews]] |date=July 15, 2004}}</ref><br />
* ''The Lives of Strangers'' (2007)<br />
* ''[[The Palace of Illusions: A Novel]]'' (2008)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/sep/27/palace-illusions-chitra-banerjee-divakaruni|title=The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni|last=Purdon|first=James|date=2009-09-27|work=The Guardian|df=dmy-all|access-date=2020-02-07}}</ref><br />
* ''[[One Amazing Thing]]'' (2010)<br />
* ''Oleander Girl'' (2013)<ref>Reviews of ''Oleander Girl''<br />
*{{cite news |title=Oleander Girl |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9781451695656 |access-date=11 December 2022 |work=[[Publishers Weekly]] |date=April 1, 2013}}<br />
*{{cite news |title=Oleander Girl |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/chitra-banerjee-divakaruni/oleander-girl/ |access-date=11 December 2022 |work=[[Kirkus Reviews]] |date=15 January 2013}}</ref><br />
* ''Before We Visit the Goddess'' (2016)<ref>Saraswat, Surbhi. "Myth & Gender: A Critical Reading of Chitra Banerjee Devakaruni’s Before We Visit the Goddess." International Journal of English Language, Literature in Humanities 6.2 (2018): 748-754.</ref><ref>Reviews of ''Before We Visit the Goddess''<br />
*{{cite news |title=Before We Visit the Goddess |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/chitra-banerjee-divakaruni/before-we-visit-the-goddess/ |access-date=11 December 2022 |work=[[Kirkus Reviews]] |date=March 1, 2016}}<br />
*{{cite news |last1=Patel |first1=Pooja |title=Book Review: Before We Visit the Goddess |url=https://www.dnaindia.com/lifestyle/review-book-review-before-we-visit-the-goddess-2222544 |access-date=11 December 2022 |work=[[Zee Media Corporation#Online|DNA India]] |date=5 December 2017}}</ref> <br />
* ''The Forest of Enchantments'' (2019)<ref>Review of ''The Forest of Enchantments''<br />
*{{cite journal |last1=Ray |first1=Samrat |title=The forest of enchantments (Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni) |journal=Journal of Medical Evidence |date=May–August 2021 |volume=2 |issue=2 |page=372 |doi=10.4103/JME.JME_69_21 |s2cid=237394964 |url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A674119495/AONE|via=Gale|doi-access=free }}</ref><br />
* ''The Last Queen'' (2021)<br />
* ''[[Independence (novel)|Independence]]'' (2023)<ref>Reviews of ''Independence''<br />
*{{cite news |last1=Kapoor |first1=Mina |title=Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's Partition tale, 'Independence' |url=https://www.thehindu.com/books/books-reviews/book-review-chitra-banerjee-divakaruni-independence-partition-sisters-freedom-harper-collins-india-pakistan-muslim-league/article66199309.ece |access-date=10 December 2022 |work=[[The Hindu]] |date=29 November 2022}}<br />
*{{cite news |title=Independence |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780063142381 |access-date=10 December 2022 |work=[[Publishers Weekly]] |date=1 November 2022}}<br />
*{{cite news |title=Independence |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/chitra-banerjee-divakaruni/independence-divakaruni/ |access-date=10 December 2022 |work=[[Kirkus Reviews]] |date=15 November 2022}}</ref><br />
<br />
=== Young adult and children's ===<br />
* ''Neela: Victory Song'' (2002)<br />
* ''Grandma and the Great Gourd'' (2013) (children's picture book)<ref>Reviews of ''Grandma and the Great Gourd''<br />
*{{cite news |title=Grandma and the Great Gourd: A Bengali Folktale |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9781596433786 |access-date=11 December 2022 |work=[[Publishers Weekly]] |date=11 February 2013}}<br />
*{{cite news |title=Grandma and the Great Gourd |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/chitra-banerjee-divakaruni/grandma-and-great-gourd/ |access-date=11 December 2022 |work=[[Kirkus Reviews]] |date=1 February 2013}}</ref><br />
<br />
==== Brotherhood of the Conch series ====<br />
* ''[[The Conch Bearer]]'' (2003)<br />
* ''[[The Mirror of Fire and Dreaming]]'' (2005)<br />
* ''Shadowland'' (2009)<ref>Review of ''Shadowland''<br />
*{{cite news |title=Shadowland |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/chitra-banerjee-divakaruni/shadowland/ |access-date=11 December 2022 |work=[[Kirkus Reviews]] |date=15 March 2009}}</ref><br />
<br />
=== Poetry ===<br />
* "Dark like the River", 1987.<br />
* ''The Reason for Nasturtiums'', Berkeley (Berkeley Poets Workshop) 1990. {{ISBN|978-0-917658-28-0}}<br />
* ''Black Candle. Poems About Women from India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh'', Corvallis (Calyx Books) 1991. {{ISBN|978-0-934971-74-4}}<br />
* ''Leaving Yuba City'', St. Louis (Turtleback Books) 1997. {{ISBN|978-1-4177-1097-3}}<ref>Review of ''Leaving Yuba City''<br />
*{{cite news |title=Leaving Yuba City: Poems |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780385488549 |access-date=11 December 2022 |work=[[Publishers Weekly]] |date=14 July 1997}}</ref><br />
<br />
=== Anthologies ===<br />
* ''Multitude: Cross Cultural Readings for Writers'' (1993)<br />
* ''We Too Sing America'' (1997)<br />
* ''California Uncovered: Stories for the 21st Century'' (2004)<br />
<br />
==Personal life==<br />
Divakaruni lives in Houston with her husband, Murthy. She has two sons, Anand and Abhay (whose names she has used in her children's novels).<ref>[http://www.chitradivakaruni.com/about/bio/ Author's Bio on her webpage]</ref><br />
<br />
==See also==<br />
{{Portal|Literature}}<br />
* [[List of Indian Americans]]<br />
* [[Indian English literature]]<br />
* [[List of Asian American writers]]<br />
<br />
==References==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
<br />
==Further reading==<br />
* Abcarian, Richard and Marvin Klotz. "Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni." In ''Literature: The Human Experience'', 9th edition. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2006: 1544.<br />
* {{cite book|last1=Cheung|first1=King-Kok|title=Words matter conversations with Asian American writers|date=2000|publisher=University of Hawai'i Press in association with UCLA Asian American Studies Center, Los Angeles|location=Honolulu|isbn=9780585469423|oclc=52974184}}<br />
* Softsky, Elizabeth. "Cross Cultural Understanding Spiced with the Indian Diaspora." ''Black Issues in Higher Education'' 14 (15):26. 18 September 1997.<br />
* X.J. Kennedy et al. ''The Bedford Reader'', 10th edition. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2007: 446.<br />
* Majithia, Sheetal. "Of Foreigners and Fetishes: A Reading of Recent South Asian American Fiction." ''Samar'' 14: The South Asian American Generation (Fall/Winter 2001): 52–53. [https://web.archive.org/web/20140112040407/http://samarmagazine.org/archive/articles/59 Of Foreigners and Fetishes | Samar Magazine]<br />
* Newton, Pauline T. ''Transcultural Women of Later Twentieth Century US American Literature''. Ashgate Publishing, 2005.<br />
* Merlin, Lara. "The Mistress of Spices." ''World Literature Today''. University of Oklahoma. 1 January 1998.<br />
* Johnson, Sarah Anne. "Writing outside the Lines." ''Writer'' 117(3):20 Mar 2004.<br />
* Nelson, Emmanuel Sampath. ''Asian American Novelists A Bio-Bibliographical Critical Sourcebook''. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 2000. {{ISBN|9780313309113}}<br />
* {{Cite journal | last = Zupančič | first = Metka | title = The power of storytelling: an interview with Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni | journal = [[Contemporary Women's Writing]] | volume = 6 | issue = 2 | pages = 85–101 | doi = 10.1093/cww/vpr023 | date = July 2012 | doi-access = free }}<br />
<br />
==External links==<br />
* {{wikiquote-inline|Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni}}<br />
* {{Official website|http://www.chitradivakaruni.com/}}<br />
* {{IMDb name|id=2117209|name=Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni}}<br />
* {{ISFDB name|id=Chitra_Banerjee_Divakaruni|name=Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni}}<br />
<br />
{{American Book Awards}}<br />
{{American Book Awards (2020–2039)}}<br />
{{Authority control}}<br />
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Divakaruni, Chitra Banerjee}}<br />
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