Vivek Narayanan

Vivek Narayanan is an Associate Professor of Creative Writing at George Mason University's English Department, specializing in poetry, translation, and interdisciplinary studies. He holds an M.A. in Cultural Anthropology from Stanford University and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Boston University. His research focuses on Tamil classical poetry, world poetry, and critical writing on Indian and African literary traditions.

Key publications include The Kuruntokai and Its Mirror (2024), a bilingual reinterpretation of Tamil Sangam poetry, and After (2022), a critically acclaimed poetry collection. He has been a Radcliffe Fellow (2013-14) and Cullman Fellow (2015-16). Narayanan co-edited the literary journal Almost Island (2007–2019) and currently serves as Co-Editorial Director of Poetry Daily and on the board of the Cheuse International Writers Center.

He teaches courses on poetic forms, research-based poetics, and translation, emphasizing the intersection of cultural anthropology and literary practice.