Meet Gauri Awasthi | Poet & Educator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Gauri Awasthi and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Gauri, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I went to Journalism School for undergraduate because my family didn’t especially love the idea of me pursuing an artistic career, but while I was there, I realized writing is the only thing I feel driven to work towards and do. Then I found supportive professors who pushed me to apply to MFA schools. At the time, I didn’t know they even existed. But then I got into a funded program, and my family understood that having a creative career does not always mean no money, so I have stayed on the path. That is more of how I found myself in the specific field. Another part art of pursuing writing is that I was always writing from a very young age to process my world, and I think in some ways to continue working is understanding the world further.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Honestly, Instagram Poetry shaped a lot of my initial writing practice. I started posting small poems and realized that people resonated with them. But after a point, I realized I wanted to learn more about poetic forms and traditions, so I applied to MFA programs to grow in that direction. Migrating to another country to pursue a career was incredibly challenging. There was a lot of loneliness, and I needed help understanding workshops, residencies, and publishing. So I had to put myself out there to understand those things. There were so many rejections from submissions of all kinds (and that’s still ongoing), but I learned that the important thing is to keep improving your work for yourself. Rejections are a part of the writing life, so now I’ve made peace with the process. I also juggled multiple editorial and writing jobs to understand publishing better, which has been helpful. I am in a more stable position where my past experiences have shaped what I want to do or write towards instead of just surviving a new country and literary world. That part of my story is important to me right now.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I live in New York now, which everyone will agree is one of the most fun places to visit. Suppose my best friend is visiting; I’d take them to the East River Waterfront near my home, then walk to one of my favorite cafes in the neighborhood – Innocent Yesterday – get lavender iced lattes and walk to Central Park on the 79th Street entrance where there’s the pond and the Alice in Wonderland statue to sit and talk. There’s so much to see here, but some of my favorite hangout places are the NYPL library, The Drama Bookstore, Bryant Park, Molasses Bookstore, and Riverside Park. I love getting coffee and sitting outside, sometimes with Pizza Slice. The best type of food is in China Town so I’d take them there.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
It truly takes a village for a person to build a career in the arts. My family – especially my older sister and mother- pushed me to keep going in the lowest of my times, and I still do. Also, my school friends – even though they aren’t a part of my literary world- have stabilized my world with their love, which has been essential to my art practice. My teachers, like Professor Sudhakar Solomonraj, Amy Fleury, and Martha Rhodes, have been critical in inculcating discipline in my life. Then all my writer friends from my MFA program and beyond have inspired me through their work and feedback. One group that I became a part of recently is the Decolonizing Poetry Workshop. This has also helped me reimagine the meaning of a literary community.

Website: www.gauriawasthi.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gauriawasthi/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gauri-awasthi-ba134811b/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/awasthi_gauri?lang=en

Image Credits
Forest McMullin