Namrata Poddar πŸͺ·πŸͺ¬'s Avatar

Namrata Poddar πŸͺ·πŸͺ¬

@namratapoddar

Author of BORDER LESS | Faculty at UCLA | Essays/nonfiction at Poets & Writers, Literary Hub, Longreads, LA Times, etc. Interests include Decolonial β€”> storytelling, parenting, yoga, healing. Writing 2nd book, a memoir. Intermittently here.

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13.11.2024
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Latest posts by Namrata Poddar πŸͺ·πŸͺ¬ @namratapoddar

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Birthday greetings to my firstborn book, β€œBorder Less” β€” no more a toddler this #womenshistorymonth. And selfie from the day I first held the ARC or a journey of 17 years, cuz in a world where Power is bent on silencing as many as possible, it feels radical to witness *a coming into voice. 🧿πŸͺ·

01.03.2026 17:47 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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28.02.2026 12:47 πŸ‘ 15610 πŸ” 4747 πŸ’¬ 379 πŸ“Œ 347
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Talking Taboo: Financial Literacy and Sustainability for Writers | Led by Namrata Poddar β€” Poets & Writers Unlike many professions, literary art doesn’t operate within a strictly capitalist framework of effort versus reward. A writer’s labor may not produce monetary compensation for years. Craft is key,…

Unlike many professions, literary art doesn’t operate within a strictly capitalist framework of effort versus reward. So, how do writers pay their bills while doing what they love? Check out this workshop with @namratapoddar.bsky.social (grab your spot, it starts tonight!): at.pw.org/taboo

25.02.2026 14:15 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Course details and author photo against a black backdrop

Course details and author photo against a black backdrop

Text in black against white backdrop

Text in black against white backdrop

Text in black against white backdrop

Text in black against white backdrop

Text in black against white backdrop

Text in black against white backdrop

Writers about to birth a book but aren’t supported by a big PR budget, join me! Or help spread the word? Writing is firstly a creative practice, but there’s so much more to it as a professional path in the 21st century.
Excited to offerπŸ‘‡πŸΎ at @narrativelyacademy.bsky.social 🀎

20.02.2026 00:45 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Yes it’s Valentine’s Day. But it’s also the chosen birthday of Frederick Douglass who was born in 1818 on a plantation in Talbot County, Maryland. He escaped from slavery & rose to become the most eloquent and forceful voice for the abolition of slavery & for Black voting rights in the U.S.

14.02.2026 18:45 πŸ‘ 13996 πŸ” 3731 πŸ’¬ 232 πŸ“Œ 133
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May we stay in the #heartchakra, more often than not. Happy V Day, Community. πŸ’š

(Image credit @thichnhathanhgems)

14.02.2026 21:45 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

I’ll get to the translations later (critique is always a longer story) but for now, I’m in for a cultural performance at a national scale with *zero translation. May all self-expression aspire to thisβ€”a refusal to assimilate to the hegemonic gaze.
(& icing on the cake if it gets rhythm, Dia says.🏈)

09.02.2026 03:17 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Yesterday, five-year-old Liam and his dad Adrian were released from Dilley detention center. I picked them up last night and escorted them back to Minnesota this morning.

Liam is now home. With his hat and his backpack.

01.02.2026 15:49 πŸ‘ 67301 πŸ” 16095 πŸ’¬ 2572 πŸ“Œ 1828
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a dose of winter quiet for whoever needs it today. πŸ™πŸ½πŸŒ€

02.02.2026 00:54 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

resist β€” *without blocking the heart chakra. πŸͺ·

30.01.2026 01:53 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Bruce Springsteen releases anti-ICE protest song 'Streets of Minneapolis' On Wednesday, Bruce Springsteen released 'Streets of Minneapolis,' a protest song condemning the violence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minneapolis.

we need allyship in all forms we can get. i’m especially for white male artists calling out the consequences of white male leadership. redistribute the labor that artists of color have carried disproportionately.

Bruce Springsteen releases β€œStreets of Minneapolis” πŸ‘‡πŸΎπŸ€
www.npr.org/2026/01/28/n...

30.01.2026 01:10 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Saraswati with veena and swans seated in a river.

Saraswati with veena and swans seated in a river.

My thoughts for Vasanth Panchami as black text against white background.

My thoughts for Vasanth Panchami as black text against white background.

Swan in a dark river

Swan in a dark river

Cuz I hold stubbornly a vision for Spring. Vasanth Panchami greetings to all marking the moment. πŸ™πŸ½πŸ€Ž

23.01.2026 18:55 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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To BIPOC seeking help w mental health (more so in the times!) yet falling short, reminder that the system (/medical industrial complex) wasn’t built at its core to serve the global majority. May you be kind to yourself, may you continue to replenish as you give.
& yes, healing IS political (too).πŸ™πŸ½πŸŒ€

23.01.2026 02:04 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
My selfie as a reader and fan holding a copy of Arundhati Roy’s latest book.

My selfie as a reader and fan holding a copy of Arundhati Roy’s latest book.

I’m reading it too. & wondering: how many brown kids are breaking reading it? How many are confronting buried selves/stories? Cuz every desi kid I know has been brainwashed early enough: family is everything. Phew.

For #ArundhatiRoy fans, this too is a must-read, although Kleenex supplies!

13.01.2026 21:16 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

P.S. www.pw.org/content/work...

13.01.2026 02:51 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

I’m so excited to be offering this course @pw.org. Writers: let’s talk Taboo! πŸ€ŽπŸ‘‡πŸΎ

12.01.2026 23:15 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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A question students (oft β€œminority” ones) ask me often: How do writers pay their bills? It’s like, without knowing this, they won’t give themselves the permission to pursue writing as a consistent *practice. It’s too far-fetched otherwise, writing being the stuff rich kids do. So a course @pw.org πŸ‘‡πŸΎπŸ™πŸ½

12.01.2026 23:14 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1
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Joyous New Year to you and yours, Community! 🀎
May we show up responsibly over our brief time on this gorgeous, troubled planet. And yesss to a world with men cleaning up after themselves. 🧿

02.01.2026 00:41 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Featuring today as a wrap for the year: books from my Fall syllabus (without standalone essays taught), a cliched L.A. prof selfie, or the one stuck in traffic, and reminders to self, should you need it too.

May the holidays bring you rest and a joyous transition into 2026! See you next year. πŸ€ŽπŸŒ€πŸ™πŸ½

17.12.2025 00:58 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
My thoughts on the MFA in black font against a beige background.

My thoughts on the MFA in black font against a beige background.

I’ve said this for a while now, including in my essays @pw.org and @literaryhub.bsky.social , but the educator in me cannot repeat this enough. As someone who believes big in the potential of storytelling, I cannot repeat this enough. We must rethink the MFA. 🀎

05.12.2025 19:43 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Early career writers, join me @pw.org. Let’s talk *Taboo! πŸ€ŽπŸ‘‡πŸΎ

05.12.2025 19:15 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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A lil from my Fall syllabus cuz if you ask me, it’s always a good time to read Arundhati Roy, more so on rainy winter evenings like these. This via her collection of essays, β€œThe End of Imagination,” published in 1998. What changed, I often wonder. Yet a reminder of so much we can.

18.11.2025 02:20 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Voters approve Prop. 50, California redistricting, in a win for Democrats Prop. 50, California's congressional redistricting measure, was on the ballot on a high-profile election day that saw Democratic wins in New York, New Jersey and elsewhere.

California voters approved Prop. 50. Here's a look at the percentage of "yes" votes by county, with 25.1% precincts reporting as of Nov. 4, 8:18 p.m.

05.11.2025 04:40 πŸ‘ 53 πŸ” 9 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 2
Comment on Mamdani’s education against blue background.

Comment on Mamdani’s education against blue background.

Literally every girlfriend and colleague today. Thanks for sharing, Reshmi Dutt-Ballerstadt, and reiterating for my desi community of STEM majors/advocates.
To the real DEI. πŸ€“πŸ€Ž

05.11.2025 05:34 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Lord knows we can use a good news in the labyrinths of Power. Go, Zohran Mamdani! ❀️🀎

05.11.2025 03:09 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Good point, thanks

20.10.2025 18:58 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Who did this? I am dead πŸ˜‚πŸ€£πŸ€£πŸ˜‚πŸ€£πŸ€£

20.10.2025 18:48 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Happy "PROFESSOR!!! CANVAS IS DOWN!!!" day to all academics who celebrate.

20.10.2025 17:32 πŸ‘ 269 πŸ” 38 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 6
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May your path exude light and abundance.
Diwali and New Year greetings to all marking the moment. πŸ™πŸ½β€οΈ

20.10.2025 15:07 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Dialogue over dominationβ€”may now be a fresher start to a newer road, a fresher relationship to power
β€” within a long winding road where so much seeks attention, accountability, repair… and righlty so. β€οΈβ€πŸ©Ή

#permanentceasefirenow

09.10.2025 02:38 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0