Ashok Mathur is a South Asian (Indo-Canadian) cultural organizer, writer and visual artist. Prior to this he was the head of Creative Studies and a professor in the Department of Creative Studies at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan campus. As a Canada Research Chair in Cultural and Artistic Inquiry, he also directed the Centre for Innovation in Culture and the Arts in Canada (CiCAC).[1]
Early life and education edit
Mathur was born in Bhopal, India; in 1962, at the age of one, he emigrated with his family to Canada. He worked as a journalist from 1981 to 1985, and then completed his studies at the University of Calgary, earning a bachelor's degree, master of arts, and Ph.D.[2] Prior to joining Thompson Rivers in 2005, he taught at the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design.[1]
Works edit
Mathur is the author of a volume of poetic prose (Loveruage; a dance in three parts, Wolsak and Wynn, 1994), a long poem ("The First White Black Man", monograph press, 2017) and three novels:
- Once Upon an Elephant (Arsenal Pulp Press, 1998, ISBN 978-1-55152-058-2) recounts the story of the birth of Ganesh as a Canadian courtroom drama.[citation needed]
- The Short, Happy Life of Harry Kumar (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2002, ISBN 978-1-55152-113-8) was nominated for the Commonwealth Writers' Prize, and blends the Ramayana with modern Canada.[citation needed]
- A Little Distillery in Nowgong (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2009, ISBN 978-1-55152-258-6) follows three generations of a Parsi family from India to North America. Along with the novel, Mathur also produced an associated art installation, which was shown in Vancouver, Ottawa, and Kamloops.[3]
Additionally, Mathur's artwork "one hundred thirty-three thousand five hundred twenty-eight words and a super-8 grab" was part of a 2009 acquisition by the Canada Council Art Bank.[4]
References edit
- ^ a b Faculty profile, Thompson Rivers University, retrieved 2010-11-26.
- ^ Author biography Archived 19 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine from publisher's web site, retrieved 2010-11-26.
- ^ Reviews: Varty, Alexander (28 January 2010), "Ancient creed animates author Ashok Mathur's A Little Distillery in Nowgong", The Georgia Straight; Delisle, Jennifer Bowering (2010), "Staying Power", Canadian Literature, archived from the original on 26 November 2010; Guthrie, Becky (5 March 2010), "Buy It or Skip It? A Little Distillery in Nowgong", National Post.
- ^ Werb, Jessica (23 April 2009), "11 B.C. artists represented in 55 new works acquired for Canada Council art bank", The Georgia Straight.