In this episode of The Artist's Statement, we feature short fiction writer Kuzhali Manickavel, whose work has been described as surreal, sci-fi, absurdist, and weird. Manickavel, who calls in from Bangalore, India, discusses how she characterizes her own work and how international perspectives can lead to alternative definitions. We examine her stories, "The Decline and Fall of Western Dance in a South Indian Women's College" from her collection Things We Found During the Autopsy, "Item Girls," and her chapbook The Lucy Temerlin Institute for Broken Shapeshifters Guide to Starving Boys: Their Salient Features, How to Find Them, How to Care for Them after They Die, and Four Considerations. Manickavel also explores how her experiences as an outsider inspire her work, and the influence of English writing in India.

Hosted by Davin Malasarn.

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