Minal Hajratwala
Encyclopedia
Minal Hajratwala is a writer, performer, poet, and queer
activist of South Asian descent. She was born in and is currently based in San Francisco, California
, US, and was raised in New Zealand
and suburban Michigan
. She is a graduate of Stanford University
.
has called "incomparable," and The Washington Post
has characterized as "searingly honest." She researched and wrote the book during a seven year period, traveling the world to interview more than 75 members of her extended family.
Hajratwala's creative work has appeared in journals, anthologies, and theater spaces and has received recognition and support from the Sundance Institute
, the Jon Sims Center for the Arts, the SerpentSource Foundation, and the Hedgebrook
writing retreat for women, where she serves on the Alumnae Leadership Council. For World AIDS Day
in 1999, the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco
commissioned her one-woman show, “Avatars: Gods for a New Millennium.”
She previously worked as a journalist at the San Jose Mercury News
for eight years, was a board member of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association
, and was a National Arts Journalism Program fellow at Columbia University
’s Graduate School of Journalism in 2000-01.
In June 2011 Hajratwala and Tom MacMaster, creator of Amina Abdallah Arraf al Omari
, engaged in an online dispute over the posting of MacMaster's manuscript.
Queer
Queer is an umbrella term for sexual minorities that are not heterosexual, heteronormative, or gender-binary. In the context of Western identity politics the term also acts as a label setting queer-identifying people apart from discourse, ideologies, and lifestyles that typify mainstream LGBT ...
activist of South Asian descent. She was born in and is currently based in San Francisco, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, US, and was raised in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and suburban Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. She is a graduate of Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
.
Career
She is the author of Leaving India: My Family’s Journey From Five Villages to Five Continents (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009), which Alice WalkerAlice Walker
Alice Malsenior Walker is an American author, poet, and activist. She has written both fiction and essays about race and gender...
has called "incomparable," and The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
has characterized as "searingly honest." She researched and wrote the book during a seven year period, traveling the world to interview more than 75 members of her extended family.
Hajratwala's creative work has appeared in journals, anthologies, and theater spaces and has received recognition and support from the Sundance Institute
Sundance Institute
Sundance Institute is a non-profit organization founded by Robert Redford in 1981 that actively advances the work of filmmakers and storytellers worldwide...
, the Jon Sims Center for the Arts, the SerpentSource Foundation, and the Hedgebrook
Hedgebrook
Hedgebrook is a rural retreat for women writers on Whidbey Island, Washington, founded in 1988. Hedgebrook's artist in residency program accepts 40 writers each year, who spend 2 to 6 weeks in residence working on their diverse writing projects. Each writer stays in her own hand-crafted cottage....
writing retreat for women, where she serves on the Alumnae Leadership Council. For World AIDS Day
World AIDS Day
World AIDS Day, observed December 1 every year, is dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection. Government and health officials observe the day, often with speeches or forums on the AIDS topics. Since 1995, the President of the United States has made an...
in 1999, the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco
Asian Art Museum of San Francisco
The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco is a museum in San Francisco, California, United States. It has one of the most comprehensive collections of Asian art in the world....
commissioned her one-woman show, “Avatars: Gods for a New Millennium.”
She previously worked as a journalist at the San Jose Mercury News
San Jose Mercury News
The San Jose Mercury News is a daily newspaper in San Jose, California. On its web site, however, it calls itself Silicon Valley Mercury News. The paper is owned by MediaNews Group...
for eight years, was a board member of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association
National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association
The National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association is an American professional association dedicated to unbiased coverage of gay/lesbian issues in the media...
, and was a National Arts Journalism Program fellow at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
’s Graduate School of Journalism in 2000-01.
In June 2011 Hajratwala and Tom MacMaster, creator of Amina Abdallah Arraf al Omari
Amina Abdallah Arraf al Omari
Amina Abdallah Arraf al Omari was a fictional character or hoax persona created and maintained by American Tom MacMaster. The identity was presented as a Syrian-American blogger, identifying herself as a lesbian on her weblog A Gay Girl In Damascus and blogging in support of increased civil and...
, engaged in an online dispute over the posting of MacMaster's manuscript.