Shailja Patel
Encyclopedia
Shailja Patel is an internationally acclaimed Kenyan poet
, playwright
, theatre artist, and political activist. She is most known for her spoken-word theatre show Migritude. CNN characterizes Patel as an artist "who exemplifies globalization as a people-centered phenomenon of migration and exchange." Shailja divides her time between Kenya and the USA. Her book, Migritude, was published by Kaya Press in 2010.
as a third generation East African of Indian Gujarati
heritage. Her grandparents migrated to East Africa from the Indian sub-continent. Her father was raised on Pemba Island and her mother was from Mombasa
. She grew up in Nairobi
and attended college in England before migrating to the United States. She now lives in Nairobi and California.
, women, and the African and South Asian diaspora
s.
, passed down by her mother, to unfold hidden histories of women's lives in the bootprint of Empire
, from India to East Africa." The work derives heavily from her own experiences.
The show opened to an overwhelmingly positive response in the San Francisco Bay Area
before embarking on a tour of Kenya, funded by the Ford Foundation
.. It was also presented in Vienna, Italy, Zanzibar, and on the closing night of the World Social Forum in Nairobi, in 2007, where it received a prolonged standing ovation.
On publication, the book Migritude went to number 1 on Amazon's Bestsellers in Asian Poetry. In December 2010, it was a Seattle Times Bestseller. In 2011, Migritude won the award for Best Book Design in the American Design Awards.
Honours include a Sundance Theatre Fellowship, a Creation Fund Award from the National Performance Network, the Fanny-Ann Eddy Poetry Award from IRN-Africa, the Voices of Our Nations Poetry Award, a Lambda Slam Championship, and the Outwrite Poetry Prize. Patel is a founding member of Kenyans For Peace, Truth and Justice, a civil society coalition which works for an equitable democracy in Kenya.
In 2011, the African Women's Development Fund named Patel one of Fifty Inspirational African Feminists for the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day. In the same year, the Poetry Africa Festival named her the Letters To Dennis poet, a role created to honor the legacy of the late activist-poet Dennis Brutus, and awarded to ""a poet of high excellence who reflects' Dennis' passion for human rights and integrity". Following her tour of India, where she appeared at the Jaipur Literature Festival, the Kolkata Literature Festival, and the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival in Mumbai, ELLE India Magazine named her selected her as one of its New Guard Power List: "25 achievers across many fields who have excelled in their respective careers and will, in the future, continue to contribute significantly."
Awards and grants include:
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
, theatre artist, and political activist. She is most known for her spoken-word theatre show Migritude. CNN characterizes Patel as an artist "who exemplifies globalization as a people-centered phenomenon of migration and exchange." Shailja divides her time between Kenya and the USA. Her book, Migritude, was published by Kaya Press in 2010.
Biography
Patel was born and raised in KenyaKenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
as a third generation East African of Indian Gujarati
Gujarati people
Gujarati people , or Gujaratis are an ethnic group that is traditionally Gujarati-speaking and can trace their ancestry to the state of Gujarat in western India...
heritage. Her grandparents migrated to East Africa from the Indian sub-continent. Her father was raised on Pemba Island and her mother was from Mombasa
Mombasa
Mombasa is the second-largest city in Kenya. Lying next to the Indian Ocean, it has a major port and an international airport. The city also serves as the centre of the coastal tourism industry....
. She grew up in Nairobi
Nairobi
Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...
and attended college in England before migrating to the United States. She now lives in Nairobi and California.
Works
Patel's poetry, performance art, and essays are often centered around the themes of Empire, migration, globalization, colonialismColonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
, women, and the African and South Asian diaspora
Diaspora
A diaspora is "the movement, migration, or scattering of people away from an established or ancestral homeland" or "people dispersed by whatever cause to more than one location", or "people settled far from their ancestral homelands".The word has come to refer to historical mass-dispersions of...
s.
Migritude
Patel is best known for her book Migritude, based on the 90-minute spoken-word theatre show of the same name. The name of the play is a term Patel coined herself. Derived from the words "migrant," "attitude" and "negritude," it refers to, in Patel's words, "a generation of migrants who don't feel the need to be silent to protect themselves." The show is described on her website as using "her trousseau of sarisSaris
Saris was a Palestinian Arab village that was depopulated during the major offensive launched by the Haganah on 6 April 1948. Called Operation Nachshon, and launched before the British had left Palestine, its objective was to capture villages between Jerusalem and the coastal plain.-History:During...
, passed down by her mother, to unfold hidden histories of women's lives in the bootprint of Empire
Empire
The term empire derives from the Latin imperium . Politically, an empire is a geographically extensive group of states and peoples united and ruled either by a monarch or an oligarchy....
, from India to East Africa." The work derives heavily from her own experiences.
The show opened to an overwhelmingly positive response in the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
before embarking on a tour of Kenya, funded by the Ford Foundation
Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is a private foundation incorporated in Michigan and based in New York City created to fund programs that were chartered in 1936 by Edsel Ford and Henry Ford....
.. It was also presented in Vienna, Italy, Zanzibar, and on the closing night of the World Social Forum in Nairobi, in 2007, where it received a prolonged standing ovation.
On publication, the book Migritude went to number 1 on Amazon's Bestsellers in Asian Poetry. In December 2010, it was a Seattle Times Bestseller. In 2011, Migritude won the award for Best Book Design in the American Design Awards.
Recognition
Patel has appeared on the BBC World Service, NPR and Al-Jazeera. Her work has been translated into 16 languages. Her political articles have appeared in The Africa Report, Pambazuka News, Mercury (South Africa), and a range of other publications. She guest-edited a special edition of Pambazuka News: "Kenya: One Year On" in February 2009.Honours include a Sundance Theatre Fellowship, a Creation Fund Award from the National Performance Network, the Fanny-Ann Eddy Poetry Award from IRN-Africa, the Voices of Our Nations Poetry Award, a Lambda Slam Championship, and the Outwrite Poetry Prize. Patel is a founding member of Kenyans For Peace, Truth and Justice, a civil society coalition which works for an equitable democracy in Kenya.
In 2011, the African Women's Development Fund named Patel one of Fifty Inspirational African Feminists for the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day. In the same year, the Poetry Africa Festival named her the Letters To Dennis poet, a role created to honor the legacy of the late activist-poet Dennis Brutus, and awarded to ""a poet of high excellence who reflects' Dennis' passion for human rights and integrity". Following her tour of India, where she appeared at the Jaipur Literature Festival, the Kolkata Literature Festival, and the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival in Mumbai, ELLE India Magazine named her selected her as one of its New Guard Power List: "25 achievers across many fields who have excelled in their respective careers and will, in the future, continue to contribute significantly."
Awards and grants include:
- Fifty Inspirational African Feminists (African Women's Development Fund)
- Letters To Dennis Poet of Poetry Africa (honoring legacy of late poet-activist, Dennis Brutus)
- Poet-in-Residence, Tallberg Forum
- Nomination for Premio Lettarario Camaiore (Italy)
- African Guest Writer Fellowship, Nordic Africa InstituteNordic Africa InstituteNordic Africa Institute serves as a research, documentation and information centre on modern Africa for the Nordic countries. The Institute also encourages research and studies on Africa. The institute was founded in 1962....
, Sweden - Indian American Women Empowered – National Award for Arts and Creativity
- Ford Foundation Award
- East Bay Community Foundation Grant
- National Performance Network Creation Fund Award
- City of Oakland Individual Artist Grant
- Zellerbach Foundation Grant
- Lambda Literary Festival National Slam Champion
- Serpent Source Foundation For Women Artists Grant
- Voices Of Our Nations Arts Foundation Poetry Award
- Outwrite Poetry Award, New York Lesbian and Gay Center