NRI PULSE STAFF REPORT
Matwaala, the pioneering South Asian diaspora poetry collective, is celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2025 with a full calendar of literary events, including festivals, poetry readings, film screenings, and global collaborations that reflect the group’s deep commitment to poetic dialogue, inclusivity, and community-building.
Founded in 2015 by poets Usha Akella and Pramila Venkateswaran, Matwaala was born out of a desire to increase the visibility of diasporic South Asian poets—hailing from countries such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan, and Myanmar—in the American literary mainstream. The name Matwaala, which evokes the intoxication of poetic creativity, has become synonymous with a vibrant, transnational poetic community rooted in diversity, solidarity, and cultural connection.
Over the past decade, Matwaala has grown from a single reading series to a wide-reaching literary movement, with over 122 poets participating in readings, anthologies, and community initiatives. While luminaries such as Salman Rushdie, Meena Alexander, Vijay Seshadri, Indran Amirthanayagam, and Ravi Shankar have featured in its programs, the organization has remained committed to nurturing emerging voices and fostering intersectional collaborations.
“Our mission is grounded in the belief that we flourish when we act collectively,” said co-founder Usha Akella. “Matwaala is about building bridges—across cultures, communities, and poetic forms.”
Matwaala’s tenth anniversary year is marked by a robust schedule of 15 events across the United States and internationally. The 2025 highlights include:
- A special collaboration with the Academy of American Poets’ Poem-a-Day series in May, which featured five South Asian women poets and is now set to become an annual May feature.
- The inaugural Mehfilm Poetry Film Festival on October 4, in collaboration with the South Asia Institute in Chicago—an innovative venture that merges visual storytelling with verse.
- Readings at venues across the country including the Walt Whitman Birthplace (Long Island), SWIMM (Florida), MLK Library (Washington DC), Book Woman (Austin), and the South Asia Institute (Chicago).
- A Matwaala Collective Read to close out the year, bringing together past and present participating poets.
- Two leading literary journals, Muse India and SETU, will publish special Matwaala sections celebrating the milestone.
- Noted poet and diplomat Indran Amirthanayagam has been named Matwaala’s 2025 Poet-of-Honor.
Since its inception, Matwaala has collaborated with prestigious institutions including NYU, Stony Brook University, Hunter College, the Asian American Writers’ Workshop (AAWW), and the New York Writers Workshop. Its initiatives have included community reads, youth programs, book launches, and its popular Poets-of-Color series, which features poets from Dalit, Palestinian, Caribbean, Mexican, Jewish, and Native American backgrounds.
One of Matwaala’s enduring achievements is the Poetry Wall—an art installation showcasing 24 South Asian diaspora poets, curated in partnership with ThinkIndia Foundation for the Smithsonian’s Beyond Bollywood project at the Irving Museum and Archives in Dallas.
The collective’s work has been featured in Poets & Writers, AWP’s The Writer’s Chronicle, The Hindu, Versopolis, and India Currents, among others.
What sets Matwaala apart is its atmosphere of warmth, mutual support, and shared purpose. Even as it grows in visibility and prestige, the organization maintains a grassroots ethos, powered by its poets, supporters, and volunteers.
“The 10th anniversary is not just a celebration of the past,” said co-founder Pramila Venkateswaran. “It’s a call to dream bigger, reach farther, and continue building a poetic space rooted in community.”
As Matwaala steps into its second decade, its leadership—Akella, Venkateswaran, and ambassador Kashiana Singh—invites collaborations, partnerships, and patronage to help sustain and expand its mission.
For more information or to get involved, visit www.matwaala.com or contact the leadership at reachmatwaala@gmail.com.
Cover photo: Matwaala co-founders Usha Akella and Pramila Venkateswaran.
