Interview with Namrata Poddar
Anyone who thinks contemporary fiction doesn’t take enough risks, absolutely must read Namrata Poddar’s brilliant debut novel, Border Less. I included it in a roundup of incredible 2022 debuts and to quote myself: “Namrata Poddar plays with the English language and uses staccato rhythm and unconventional form, challenging the idea of a ‘mainstream’ Western novel, examining colonization and othering, not only in this country, but our literature. We meet a range of characters—immigrant maids, blue- and white-collar workers in the hospitality industry, Bollywood artists, single mothers, academics, tourists, and more—in India and America, and the result is an elegant meditation on the way Brown border-crossing people must negotiate power due to race, class, gender, and religion.”
Namrata makes bold craft decisions in the novel, such as how it calls into question the criticism some readers may have about its fragmented, mosaic structure. (You can read my review, which quotes some of my favorite lines in the novel to see what I mean.) I admire Namrata and her work so much and I’m thrilled she agreed to talk to us!
Did you ever doubt this book would be published?
I certainly had my share of rejections from agents and publishers and my moments of doubt with Border Less finding a home in the United States. But I also believe that to have what we want, we have to first see ourselves having it. So I had to consistently talk myself into an inner space of faith over doubt while the rejections kept coming in. And one day thereafter, I saw a letter of acceptance in my inbox from my publisher for Border Less.
Can you share any tips or tricks for staying motivated?
For most, becoming a good writer takes several years, and then, the journey of paying one’s bills through writing as a path can take many more years. Unless folks come from generational wealth, one of my biggest suggestions to early writers is this: figure out how you are going to sustain yourself on the path with resources of both time and money. Without the latter, perseverance on this road is an uphill battle. Not that it’s not doable but when it comes to process, I’d rather flow with than against the current.
Any reading recommendations?
Oh, I always have a long list here but a few from current obsessions. For anyone who knows my work, I’m drawn to the idea of decolonizing what we understand as “literary” writing. Few favorites here are: Amitav Ghosh’s The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable, Matthew Salesses’s Craft in the Real World: Rethinking Fiction Writing and Workshopping, Edward Said’s Culture and Imperialism, and Edouard Glissant’s Poetics of Relation.
I’m reading a lot of nonfiction these days so with forthcoming books, I recommend Camille Dungy’s reimagination of American environmental writing in her soon-to-release* memoir, Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden. And speaking of motherhood, Imani Perry’s Breathe: A Letter to My Sons and Louise Erdrich’s The Blue Jay’s Dance. As a Yoga lover, I’m into books that explore the intersection of spirituality and social justice. I’m currently reading Jacoby Ballard’s A Queer Dharma: Yoga and Meditations for Liberation, and so far, so very good.
*Dungy’s memoir was just released earlier this week and is available now!
Song recommendation:
“Jai Ho” from “Slumdog Millionaire” because Dia Mittal, the protagonist, loves A.R. Rahman and would absolutely dance to it (as would I). I believe the song won an Oscar. It was also shot in the movie on Mumbai’s railway stations, an original muse for the novel as glimpsed in the chapter, “Ladies Special.”
With the city’s slum children as the movie’s true actors and whom Danny Boyle had sorely underpaid, if at all, this song by Rahman has my heart:
Thank you, Namrata!