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Janice Pariat

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Janice Pariat
Janice Pariat in 2016
Janice Pariat in 2016
Born
Jorhat, Assam, India
OccupationWriter, poet
LanguageEnglish
Notable worksBoats on Land, The Nine Chambered Heart, Everything the light touches

Janice Pariat is an Indian poet and writer. She is best known for Boats on Land which won the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar, and Everything the Light Touches which garnered the Sushila Devi Award. Pariat teaches Creative Writing and History of Art at Ashoka University.

Early life and career

[edit]

Janice was born in Jorhat, Assam, and grew up between Shillong and several tea estates in Assam.[1][2] She was educated at Loreto Convent, Shillong and The Assam Valley School.[1][3] Thereafter, she obtained a BA in English Literature from St. Stephen's College, Delhi and an MA in History of Art and/or Archaeology from SOAS, University of London.[1]

She is the editor of online literary journal Pyrta, which she founded in 2010.[4] Her writing has featured in a number of Indian and international magazines,[5] such as Time Out Delhi,[1] The Caravan[6] and Internazionale.[7]

In 2014 she was the Charles Wallace Creative Writing Fellow with residency at University of Kent. In 2019 she was a writer-in-residence at the Toji Cultural Foundation in South Korea.[8]

Pariat has been on the jury for the 2022 JCB Prize for Literature.[9] Pariat teaches creative writing and history of Art at Ashoka University.

Style

[edit]

In Boats on Land, Pariat's stories – set between Shillong, Cherrapunji and Assam – undertake fictional re-imaginings of the transformations that swept through Northeast India during a period of three centuries, starting in the 1850s.[10] Weaving together local folklore and tradition with unfolding social and political events, Pariat's style has been likened to magical realism[11] as well as to Haruki Murakami's writing.[12] Jeet Thayil commented on her stories to be 'revelatory and original'.[11]

Capturing the metamorphosis of Pariat's style in more than a decade, poet Urvashi Bahuguna notes that her stories remain anchored in "unrequited, unequal and thwarted love."[13]

Writing

[edit]

Boats on Land

[edit]
Pariat at the launch of Boats on Land in 2012.

Pariat's debut collection of short stories are set in and around Shillong and the tea estates that she grew up in.[14] Boats on Land: A Collection Of Short Stories was released in September 2012 under Vintage Books imprint.[15] It won the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar for the English language in 2013,[16] making her the first writer from Meghalaya to win an award from the institution.[17]

Seahorse

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This was Pariat's first novel which retells the Greek myth of Poseidon and his devotee Pelops but set in Old Delhi. [14]

Everything the Light Touches

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Pariat's ambitious novel, Everything the Light Touches was released in India in October 2022 by Fourth Estate, HarperCollins.[8] It was released almost a year later in the UK under The Borough Press imprint,[18] and Italian translation by Salani Editore.[19] Smitha Verma reflects that the book can be best described with its midway quote "Sometimes a place is more than just a place. It becomes a thing that shines like a beacon, where all your dreams and aspirations are fulfilled."[20]

The idea for the book emerged in 2014, and writing it was a challenge due to its expanse.[8] In their endorsements, the publishers noted that the book is "extraordinarily bold and ambitious" and "makes you think anew about the world around you."[8] Frontline in their review wrote, the "broad, expansive work... is richly served by the author's luminous prose.... [it] defies easy categorisation.... delivers gifts that are not easy to explain but stays with you for a long time." The review draws several parallels to the Robin Wall Kimmerer's Braiding Sweetgrass.[21] The Open magazine's review of the book draws parallel to Andrea Wulf's The Invention of Nature. They write that the novel captures a sense of emotional displacement that some experience with "incredible and affecting accuracy."[13] The Guardian called the novel, "atmospheric and accomplished."[22] The Indian Express called it a "deeply therapeutic novel".[23] Hindustan Times review writes that Pariat's narrative skills shine through in the little details that elevate it while being wonderful even at the broad strokes.[24] Vogue India calls the novel "a celebration of curiosity through the ages" with gentle language and elegant prose piercing through "the deepest places of the heart."[25] The Telegraph (India) called the novel "the very best of eco fiction" with its various characters woven together into "an interconnected and a symbiotic forest of ideas."[26] The New Indian Express praised the historical detailing combined with research to layer several genres such as history, taxonomy, prose, and poetry into the ambitious novel.[20]

The New Yorker listed the book in the 'also recommended' section of their Best Books of 2022.[27] In 2023 the novel won the Sushila Devi Award in the best fiction category and AutHer Award for Best Fiction.[14]

List of works

[edit]

Fiction

[edit]
  • Everything the Light Touches, HarperCollins, 2022. ISBN 0063210045
  • The Nine-Chambered Heart, HarperCollins India, New Delhi, 2017. ISBN 978-93-5277-379-4
  • Seahorse: A novel, Random House India, New Delhi, 2014. ISBN 978-8-184-00668-1
  • Boats on Land: A collection of short stories, Random House India, New Delhi, 2012. ISBN 978-8-184-00074-0

Poetry

[edit]

Anthology

[edit]

Awards and honours

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In 2013, Pariat's debut collection of short stories Boats on Land won the Sahitya Akademi Young Writer Award for the English language,[16] and a Crossword Book Award (fiction).[28][29] The same work was also shortlisted for the 2013 Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize,[30] and longlisted for the 2013 uday lakhanpal International Short Story Award[31][32] and the 2013 Tata Literature Live! First Book Award.[33] Seahorse was shortlisted for The Hindu Literary Prize (2015).[34]

Her latest book 'Everything the Light Touches' was long listed for JCB Prize for Literature 2023.[35] Janice bagged the Sushila Devi Award[36] for her latest book 'Everything the Light Touches' for best fiction 2023.

[edit]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 3 4 Rao Chaini, Sanjitha. "'A Tale Can Be Told In Many Ways'". Business World. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2026.
  2. ↑ Staff writer (31 August 2013). "Honoured, says State's 1st Sahitya awardee in English". Eastern Chronicle. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
  3. ↑ Singh Vasudev, Ruchi (19 March 2013). "Of Vignettes and Voices" Archived 21 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine. AVE Weekly Newsletter of The Assam Valley School. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
  4. ↑ Kaur, Karanjeet (26 October 2012). "Around Town" Archived 31 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine. TimeOut Delhi. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
  5. ↑ Paul, Shutapa (2 December 2012). "Fantastical stories from a faraway land". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 20 January 2013. Retrieved 14 June 2026.
  6. ↑ Pariat, Janice (1 September 2012). "Boats on Land". The Caravan. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
  7. ↑ Confortin, Emanuele (30 December 2012). "In edicola: Internazionale dedica un numero alla narrativa indiana". indika. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "HarperCollins is delighted to announce: Everything the Light Touches by Janice Pariat Publishing from Fourth Estate in October 2022". HarperCollins. 19 March 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2026.
  9. ↑ Frontline News Desk (4 September 2022). "JCB Prize for Literature Longlist announced". Frontline. Retrieved 17 June 2026.
  10. ↑ Staff writer (25 October 2012). "Janice talks about how the tales of Khasi and Jaitia tribes impacted her storytelling" "Boats on Land: Weaving Northeast's Real and Surreal" Deprecated link archived 30 August 2013 at archive.today. Outlook India. Retrieved on 30 August 2013.
  11. 1 2 Staff writer (2012). Book Review: Boats on Land Archived 9 August 2013 at the Wayback Machine. The Book Outline. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
  12. ↑ Staff writer (November 2012). "Boats on Land". First City. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
  13. 1 2 Bahuguna, Urvashi (4 November 2022). "A Different Way of Seeing". Open Magazine. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
  14. 1 2 3 Woodbury, Mary (10 December 2023). "Spotlight - Janice Pariat, Everything the Light Touches". Dragonfly: An exploration of eco-fiction. Retrieved 26 June 2026.
  15. ↑ "Boats On Land". Penguin Random House India. Retrieved 17 June 2026.
  16. 1 2 Sahitya Akademi Press Release Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine (23 August 2013). Retrieved 30 August 2013.
  17. ↑ Narajan, Manjula (6 October 2012). "Review: Boats on Land" Archived 4 August 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Hindustan Times. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
  18. ↑ "Everything the Light Touches". HarperCollins Publishers UK. 1 July 2023. Retrieved 17 June 2026.
  19. ↑ "Janice Pariat: Everything the Light Touches – Casa di Goethe". casadigoethe.it. Retrieved 17 June 2026.
  20. 1 2 Verma, Smitha (4 December 2022). "'Everything the Light Touches' by Janice Pariat: Journey beyond the destination". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 19 June 2026.
  21. ↑ Sinha, Neha (1 December 2022). "Book Review | Janice Pariat's 'Everything the Light Touches'". Frontline. Retrieved 17 June 2026.
  22. ↑ Goyal, Sana (20 October 2022). "Everything the Light Touches by Janice Pariat review – a dialogue with nature". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
  23. ↑ Vellat, Anuradha (3 December 2022). "A deeply therapeutic novel, Janice Pariat's Everything the Light Touches individualises ways of seeing". The Indian Express. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
  24. ↑ Gupta, Uttaran Das (28 October 2022). "Review: Everything the Light Touches by Janice Pariat". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
  25. ↑ Shankar, Avantika (5 November 2022). "Everything The Light Touches is a celebration of scientific discovery". Vogue India. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
  26. ↑ Bagchi, Srimoyee (18 November 2022). "Searching for those vanishing roots". The Telegraph (India). Retrieved 19 June 2026.
  27. ↑ The New Yorker (26 October 2022). "The Best Books of 2022". The New Yorker. Retrieved 26 June 2026.
  28. ↑ "'Popular choice' ruled at book awards". Times of India. 7 December 2013. Retrieved 7 December 2013.
  29. ↑ "Crossword Book Award Winners 2013" Archived 19 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine (6 December 2013). Retrieved 29 December 2013.
  30. ↑ Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize 2013: short list (1 September 2013). Retrieved 1 September 2013.
  31. ↑ Staff writer (17 April 2013). "State storyteller in Frank O’Connor Award longlist" Archived 12 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine. The Shillong Times. Retrieved 30 August 2013
  32. ↑ 2013 Longlist, The Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award Archived 18 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 31 August 2013
  33. ↑ Staff writer (9 November 2013). "Longlist for the Tata Literature Live! First Book Award announced". IBN Live. Retrieved 19 November 2013
  34. ↑ "The Hindu Prize 2015 Shortlist". The Hindu. 31 October 2015. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
  35. ↑ "Janice Pariat's 'Everything the Light Touches' in long list of JCB Prize for Literature".
  36. ↑ Scroll Staff (12 January 2024). "Janice Pariat's novel 'Everything the Light Touches' wins the 2023 Sushila Devi Award for Best Book". Scroll.in. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
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