Rochelle Potkar is an Indian fiction writer and poet based in Mumbai, India. Her work includes the short story collections The Arithmetic of Breasts and Other Stories and Bombay Hangovers, as well as the poetry collections Four Degrees of Separation, Paper Asylum and Coins in Rivers.
Her short stories and poems have been published in books, journals, and anthologies.[4][5] She wrote her first short story, "Matamorphosis of Joe Pereira" after she moved from Kaylan to Mumbai, and also wrote poetry about her transition to the city during that time.[3] After visiting the Tapi estuary at Surat in 2007 and then attending her first fiction-writing workshop, she wrote the story "Tropical Estuary."[5]
In 2013, she participated in a Tall Tales project storytelling event, and shared a story from her personal experience.[6][7] Her first book of short fiction, The Arithmetic of Breasts and Other Stories, was published in 2014 and shortlisted for The Digital Book of the Year Award 2014, by Publishing Next, Goa.[8][9] In 2014, she was one of the founders of Cappuccino Readings (CR), which organized a series of poetry readings at a Starbucks in Horniman Circle in Mumbai.[10][11] Around this time, she also participated in Poetry Couture, an association formed by Raghavendra Madhu to promote poetry readings in India,[12] and was co-editor of Neesah Magazine.[13]
Her first book of poetry, Four Degrees of Separation, was published in 2016, and includes poetry written during her transition to Mumbai.[3][18] In 2016, two of her poems, "Biscooti Love" and "Knotted Inside Me", were included in the anthology 40 under 40: an Anthology of Post-Globalization Poetry.[19]
She was the 2016-2017 Charles Wallace Writer's fellow at the University of Stirling, Scotland.[20][21] In 2017, she founded the Arcs-of-a-Circle Artists' Residency in Mumbai, and organized its first ten-day event for 12 artists in December 2017 with funding support from the US Consulate, Mumbai.[1] In 2017 and 2018, she contributed to the Joao Roque Literary Journal as the poetry editor.[22]
Rochelle practices and promotes the Japanese short poetry form haibun through workshops.[1][23] In 2018, she published a collection of haibun, Paper Asylum.[24][25] In his blog review of Paper Asylum, the poet Jayant Kashyap called Potkar "a wonderful weaver of stories" for her "very reasonably resonant" poetry.[26][27]
In 2018, a poem she wrote during her Iowa residency, Skirt, was adapted into a poetry film by Philippa Collie Cousins for the Visible Poetry Project.[28][29]
She co-edited the 2018 Goan-Irish anthology, Goa: A Garland of Poems, with Gabriel Rosenstock.[30] Her collection of short stories, Bombay Hangovers, was published in 2021. Her short story "Honour" was included in The Punch Magazine’s Anthology of New Writing: Select Short Stories by Women Writers, also published in 2021.[31]
As actor
Rochelle debuted in a character role in the Tamil feature-length film, Taramani, directed by Ram.[32][33]
^Reviews of The Punch Magazine Anthology of New Writing
Khan, Abdullah (19 May 2022). "A woman's word: Abdullah Khan reviews 'The Punch Magazine Anthology of New Writing'". The Hindu. Retrieved 10 February 2023. We travel from Kashmir to Mumbai as Rochelle Potkar introduces us to Purana, a washerwoman, and her struggle to keep herself alive while discharging her familial responsibilities. Written poetically, the story touches you: Potkar is not only an accomplished poet but she can do wonders with fiction too.
Basu, Kankana (6 March 2022). "Stories with a Punch". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 12 February 2023. Rochelle Patkar's competent pen takes us down the slippery pathways of Mahalaxmi's (in) famous dhobi ghat, the gradual chill in the bones having all to do with the unfurling of events thereafter.
