Education
M.A. in English, Somerville College, Oxford University, 1990.
M.A. in English and Creative Writing, The Ohio State University, 1989. B.A. (Honors) in English, Somerville College, Oxford University, 1986
Academic Scholarships
Scholarship from the Radhakrishnan Fund of Oxford University to study at Oxford, 1984.
Scholarship from the Eckersley Trust, Oxford, to study English at Oxford, 1984.
Literary Awards
- National Endowment for the Arts Award, 1998 ($20,000).
- Individual Artist Fellowship from the Minnesota State Arts Board, 1992 ($6000).
- Literary Travel Grant, The Jerome Foundation, Minnesota, 1993.
- Full Fellowship, Residency in Creative Nonfiction, The Vermont Studio Center, a Writers’ Colony, 1997.
- Fellowship, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Sweet Briar, Virginia, a Writers’ Colony, 2002.
Selected Literary Prizes and Honors
- First Prize, Best General Interest Article, Catholic Press Association of America & Canada, 2000.
- The Jakobson Scholarship for Writers of Unusual Promise, Wesleyan Writers’ Conference, Connecticut, 1994.
- Working scholarship in Nonfiction to the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, Vermont, 1997.
- Scholarship in Nonfiction to the Chenango Valley Writers’ Conference, New York, 1996.
- Odyssey Bookstore Scholarship in Nonfiction, Mount Holyoke Writers’ Conference, Massachusetts, 1992.
- Asian Pacific Inroads Award, The Loft Literary Center, Minnesota, 1992.
Selected Publications
- “First Thing in the Morning,” The Style Plus Page, The Washington Post, 16th September, 1997.
- “Nirmal Hriday,” London Magazine, Aug./Sept. 1993.
- “Memories of a Catholic Childhood,” Commonweal, October 8th, 1999.
- “That Ancient Yarn,” Virginia Quarterly Review, Winter 2000.
- “The Holy Ground of Kalighat,” Notre Dame Magazine, Autumn 1998.
- “Learning to Pray,” The Christian Century, March 22nd, 2000.
- Also selected by and posted on Religion-Online.org
- “Candlelight Prayer at Stanford,” America, April 11, 1992.
- “View from the Margins,” Contemporary Literary Criticism, 2003.
- “Aliens and Strangers,” Southwest Review, Vol. 87, #2, Nov. 2002.
- “Kalighat,” New Letters, Vol. 59, No. 2, 1993.
- “Tryst,” and “At Santa Maria Novella, Florence,” The Journal, Vol. 13, No.2, 1990.
- “Suttee,” Envoi, No. 98, Winter 1990/91.
Selected Publications
“First Thing in the Morning,” The Style Plus Page, The Washington Post, 16th September, 1997.
“Nirmal Hriday,” London Magazine, Aug./Sept. 1993.
“Memories of a Catholic Childhood,” Commonweal, October 8th, 1999.
“That Ancient Yarn,” Virginia Quarterly Review, Winter 2000.
“The Holy Ground of Kalighat,” Notre Dame Magazine, Autumn 1998.
“Learning to Pray,” The Christian Century, March 22nd, 2000. (Also selected by and posted on Religion-Online.org)
“Candlelight Prayer at Stanford,” America, April 11, 1992.
“View from the Margins,” Contemporary Literary Criticism, 2003.
“Aliens and Strangers,” Southwest Review, Vol. 87, #2, Nov. 2002.
“Kalighat,” New Letters, Vol. 59, No. 2, 1993.
“Tryst,” and “At Santa Maria Novella, Florence,” The Journal, Vol. 13, No.2, 1990.
“Suttee,” Envoi, No. 98, Winter 1990/91.
Anthologies
- “Memories of a Catholic Childhood,” Best Spiritual Writing 2000, HarperSanFrancisco.
- “The Holy Ground of Kalighat,” Best Spiritual Writing, 1999, HarperSanFrancisco. (Also selected by and posted on ChristianGateway.com, and Faith.com.)
- “Kalighat,” reprinted in Tanzania on Tuesday, New Rivers Press, MN, 1997.
- “Zigzags,” reprinted in The Best of Writers at Work 1994, Northwest Publishing, Inc., Utah.
- “Zigzags,” Speaking in Tongues, a multi-cultural anthology, The Loft Literary Center, Minneapolis, MN 1994.
- Three contributions to WomanPrayers: Prayers by Women from throughout History and Around the World, ed. Mary Ford-Grabowsky, (HarperSanFrancisco, 2002).
- “That Ancient Yarn,” selected as a Notable Essay of 2000, Best American Essays 2001, Houghton Mifflin.
- “I was a Teenage Atheist,” selected as a Notable Essay of 1999, Best American Essays 2000, Houghton Mifflin.
Teaching of Creative Writing
Adjunct Professor of Creative Writing, The College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia. 1997.
Taught an eight week course in Creative Nonfiction at the Loft Literary Center, Minneapolis, 1993.
Faculty at the Christopher Newport University Writers’ Conference, Virginia, 2000, 2003.
Faculty at the Heritage Public Library Writers’ Conference, Providence Forge, Virginia, 1999.
Faculty at the Spring Writers’ Conference, Columbus, Ohio, 1989.
Taught writing as a Teaching Assistant, The Ohio State University, 1987-1989
Taught the modern novel as a Teaching Assistant at the State University of New York, Binghamton, NY1989
Miscellaneous
Several book reviews for Commonweal Magazine between 2000-2003.
Several Theater and Film Reviews, Minnesota Daily, 1993.
Listed in the Directory of American Poets and Fiction Writers.
Profiled as “The Star of the Month” by Mangalorean.com, an expatriate website.
