India-born poet Vijay Seshadri wins 2014 Pulitzer Prize

New York : poet, born in India Vijay Seshadri has won the prestigious 2014 Pulitzer prize in the poetry category for his collection of poems ” three Sections . “

The 98th annual Pulitzer Prizes in Journalism , Letters , Drama and Music were announced yesterday at Columbia University here .

Mr. Seshadri Sections ’3 ‘is a “compelling collection of poems that examine human consciousness , from birth to dementia, with a voice that is by turns witty and serious , compassionate and ruthless ,” said the announcement.

The prize for the poetry category was given for ” distinguished volume of original verse” by an American writer.

A Columbia University alum , Mr. Seshadri receive USD 10,000 reward.

According to the biography of Mr. Seshadri on the Pulitzer website , currently teaches poetry and nonfiction writing in the liberal arts college Sarah Lawrence in New York. Born in Bangalore in 1954 , Mr. Seshadri came to America at age five and grew up in Columbus, Ohio.

His books of poems include James Laughlin winner The Long Meadow and Wild Kingdom ( 1996) Award . His poems , essays and reviews have appeared in prestigious publications such as the American Scholar, the Nation, the New Yorker, the Paris Review, Yale Review, the Times Book Review, the Philadelphia Enquirer and in many anthologies, including under 35 years : the New Generation of American Poets and the Best American Poetry 1997 and 2003.

Mr. Seshadri has received grants from the New York Foundation for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts , and has been awarded Bernard F Conners Long Poem Prize Paris Review and the MacDowell Colony Fellowship for Distinguished Poetic Achievement .

Mr. Seshadri is the fifth person of Indian origin to bag the prestigious award, the first of which Gobind Behari Lal in 1937. Mr. Lal , an editor of science, was awarded the Pulitzer in the category for its coverage reports of science in the tercentenary of Harvard University while working for the universal service . He died of cancer in 1992 .

Indian -American author Jhumpa Lahiri won Pulitzer for fiction in 2000 for his short story collection ” The interpreters of diseases.”

Journalist and writer of Indian origin Geeta Anand was the next to get the prize . Ms. Anand was the investigative reporter and columnist for the Wall Street Journal and won the award in 2003 for ” clear, concise and comprehensive stories that illuminated the roots, the importance and impact of corporate scandals in America.”

Book acclaimed Indian – American physician Siddhartha Mukherjee on cancer, ‘ The Emperor of all diseases : A Biography of Cancer, “won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize in the category of non – fiction in general.