Meher Manda is a poet, short story writer, journalist, editor and educator originally from Mumbai, India, and currently based in New York City and Providence. After earning an undergraduate degree in advertising and journalism from the University of Mumbai, she earned her MFA in Fiction at the College of New Rochelle where she was the founding editor-in-chief of the literary journal The Canopy Review. As a journalist, she writes about the intersection of culture and politics, with a focus on South Asian works of art. Her work can be found at The Juggernaut, Bustle, Scroll, Firstpost and elsewhere. She is the author of the chapbook of poems Busted Models (No, Dear / Small Anchor Press, 2019) and her poetry, fiction and nonfiction have appeared and are forthcoming in Catapult, Epiphany, The Margins, Sportklet, Hobart Pulp, Cosmonauts Avenue, Los Angeles Review, Barren Magazine, Peach Magazine and elsewhere. She has been nominated for Best New Poets 2020 and Best of the Net Anthology 2020 and has received fellowships and grants from DreamYard, Teachers & Writers Collaborative and J.N. Tata Endowment for Higher Education. She has been featured and interviewed at Brooklyn Poets, Catharsis Magazine, Hyperallergic, Asia Art Tours, The Polis Project, Lumina Journal, The Hindu and elsewhere.
As an educator, Manda has taught poetry and fiction workshops at the College of New Rochelle and has been a teaching artist with Community-Word Project, Teachers & Writers Collaborative, USDAN, the 92Y and The Cooper Union Saturday Program. She has also taught concentrated creative writing craft workshops at Manhattanville College, Queens Library and the Langston Hughes House. Her teaching philosophy is rooted in writing for justice, inclusion of diverse literary voices and the understanding that writing is an art form that continually informs and is informed by contemporary politics.
She is the writer behind the political web-comic Jamun Ka Ped, which she co-creates with Mayukh Goswami and a collective member at the worker-owned, indie publisher Radix Media. She is currently at work on a political graphic novel about India and a short story collection. She is the co-parent of a tuxedo cat named Azad.
Courses
Fall 2023 Courses
LAS E101-09 - FIRST-YEAR LITERATURE SEMINAR
LevelUndergraduate
UnitLiterary Arts and Studies
Subject Literary Arts and Studies
Period Fall 2023
Credits 3
FormatSeminar
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date
LAS E101-09
FIRST-YEAR LITERATURE SEMINAR
LevelUndergraduate
UnitLiterary Arts and Studies
Subject Literary Arts and Studies
PeriodFall 2023
Credits3
FormatSeminar
ModeIn-Person
Start and End2023-09-06 to 2023-12-13
Times: TF | 8:00 AM - 9:30 AMInstructor(s): Meher Divya MandaLocation(s): College Building, Room 431Enrolled / Capacity: 15Status: Closed
SECTION DESCRIPTION
An introduction to literary study that helps students develop the skills necessary for college-level reading, writing, research and critical thinking. Through exposure to a variety of literary forms and genres, historical periods and critical approaches, students are taught how to read closely, argue effectively and develop a strong writing voice. The course is reading and writing intensive and organized around weekly assignments. There are no waivers for LAS-E101 except for transfer students who have taken an equivalent college course.
First-year Students are pre-registered for this course by the department.
Sophomore, Junior, Senior or Transfer Students register into the designated section(s).
Major Requirement | BFA
LAS E101-10 - FIRST-YEAR LITERATURE SEMINAR
LevelUndergraduate
UnitLiterary Arts and Studies
Subject Literary Arts and Studies
Period Fall 2023
Credits 3
FormatSeminar
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date
LAS E101-10
FIRST-YEAR LITERATURE SEMINAR
LevelUndergraduate
UnitLiterary Arts and Studies
Subject Literary Arts and Studies
PeriodFall 2023
Credits3
FormatSeminar
ModeIn-Person
Start and End2023-09-06 to 2023-12-13
Times: TF | 9:40 AM - 11:10 AMInstructor(s): Meher Divya MandaLocation(s): College Building, Room 431Enrolled / Capacity: 15Status: Closed
SECTION DESCRIPTION
An introduction to literary study that helps students develop the skills necessary for college-level reading, writing, research and critical thinking. Through exposure to a variety of literary forms and genres, historical periods and critical approaches, students are taught how to read closely, argue effectively and develop a strong writing voice. The course is reading and writing intensive and organized around weekly assignments. There are no waivers for LAS-E101 except for transfer students who have taken an equivalent college course.
First-year Students are pre-registered for this course by the department.
Sophomore, Junior, Senior or Transfer Students register into the designated section(s).
Major Requirement | BFA
Spring 2024 Courses
LAS E215-01 - INTRO TO CULTURE CRITICISM
LevelUndergraduate
UnitLiterary Arts and Studies
Subject Literary Arts and Studies
Period Spring 2024
Credits 3
FormatLecture
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date
LAS E215-01
INTRO TO CULTURE CRITICISM
LevelUndergraduate
UnitLiterary Arts and Studies
Subject Literary Arts and Studies
PeriodSpring 2024
Credits3
FormatLecture
ModeIn-Person
Start and End2024-02-15 to 2024-05-24
Times: W | 8:00 AM - 11:00 AMInstructor(s): Meher Divya MandaLocation(s): Design Center, Room 210Enrolled / Capacity: 25Status: Open
SECTION DESCRIPTION
A review - nay, a good review, the kind you are sure to find in the art, entertainment, and culture sections of reputed newspapers and magazines, certainly engages with the study & makeup of the art work it is reviewing, but is also able to consider it as a palpable cultural production existing in the same universe as TikTok videos and endless Twitter discourse. It revels in and pokes fun at fandom, appreciates influence and also legacy, and is able to transition easily from critical theory to breathless pop culture breakdown. In this class, we will understand what makes for a good review, while also learning to fashion a parallel writing project as critics of the craft that we're developing. This is a class designed to develop the artist as a serious discerner of craft and a writer having fun with wordplay.
