Shefali Shah Choksi

I teach Literature and Composition at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale. I have an M.A. (English) and M.Phil  (Women's Studies) from the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Vadodara (Gujarat, India) and have lived in Florida since 1988, when I first immigrated to Miami from Mumbai.

This collection of poems, Frontier Literature draws heavily from my internal landscape populated with two major texts, fairytales from the Grimms collection, which come to me from my maternal grandmother, a first generation immigrant from Germany to India, and the Mahabharata, which I have imbibed by osmosis, inhaled with the air of my land of origin. These are set against the very real, very contemporary landscape of South Florida, which is my adopted home.

 These texts form a significant part of my inheritance to my daughter. They are my living backdrop and help me constantly  as I navigate and configure demands of my everyday life. The dualities and contradictions inherent in an immigrant identity fascinate me and my writing reflects this.

I presently live in Fort Lauderdale with my daughter and three cats. Some of these poems, along with some other reflections, may be found on my blog,

http://wwwshefalishahchoksi.blogspot.com/