CURRENT MISSION

beginning again again

ABOUT ME

I'm a human and a traveler. I'm a writer and a reader. My central passion is the political function of writing and literature. I'm interested in telling stories that don't get heard--stories from the underground, from prisons, from other countries, from our hearts.

I am currently based in Kolkata until Aug 2009. I am working with a very small publishing house here, which you can see at www.writersworkshopindia.com

I am currently pursing my fellowship project by meeting writers around India, encountering all different kinds of people. I hope to write a creative nonfiction piece on my engagement with Indian writing. So I'm on the road now; I'm in Karnataka as I write this, but will have moved on by the time you read it.

My life is a trip. Perhaps my geography will tell you about the way I live my life.

I grew up in boulder, Colorado. I went to school at Brown University in Providence, RI. During the summers, I lived in Berkeley and San Francisco, CA. I took time off from school and lived in Varanasi, India, and then travelled around India alone. Then, after I graduated, I hitchiked from Tucson to Seattle, visiting people in between. Then, I found out that I got a fellowship to live in India for a year, so I have lived in Kolkata for the last eight months. Now I'm on the road again, visiting authors.

Check my website for writing, resume, and fun: www.jedicist.org

better, the blog
www.jedicist.org/blog

PHILOSOPHY

I'm a Deleuzian. I wrote my undergraduate thesis on Deleuze and Guattari applied to the writing of Pynchon...I'd love to talk more about it with you when I meet you, or you can check on my website www.jedicist.org

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I couchsurfed around India, in Pune, Bombay, Guwahati, and lots of other places. I also hosted in my place in Calcutta. Sadly, my place here in NY is too small to host, but I'd love to meet and help travelers with anything else, including a fun night on the town.

Also, informal couchsurfing--not based on the website, but on personal connections. Hosted Brits in New York, New Yorkers in Providence, and Providencers in Berkeley, CA

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I've couchsurfed all the time, I'm blessed to have a fairly mobile life. I'm a respectful guest.

I hosted Carlos "Brusco" in Calcutta,

Just this last month in India
I couchsurfed at
Sanjoy's Ranger's in Orissa,
Yuvraj's Overstay in Bangkok
With Bharat in Bangalore (not sure if he managed to sign up for couchsurfing yet)
Sarathy in Poona
and
Anneke in Mumbai
in 2006, I lived in India for four months, two with a host family.

In Kolkata, when I am there, I'm living in a flat next door from the small publishing and family house that I work in.

I've also lived in two co-ops in America. I was couchsurfing before I learned about this website

Interests

I've been playing a lot of tabla.

I'm a politically passionate person. Very "liberal," though I have to question that word some times. Radical, progressive, whathaveyou

Literature: Recently I have been learning about Mahabharata with the head of the publishing house, Professor P Lal.
I'm working on a project about contemporary Indian literature, so I have met many different writers and poets in India

• writing
• literature
• blogging
• bouldering
• music
• drums
• cycling
• camping
• teaching
• geography

Music, Movies, and Books

Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon
So so so many books, movies. I love movies.

Music? i like Live music. I like to play music and to listen to you play music.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Check out
An Ahistory of Violence
on my website
www.jedicist.org

it's flawed, to say the least.

Travelled a lot, alone, in India. Lived in Varanasi for two months, travelled alone all over. Lived in Kolkata.

My most amazing personal experience in India was my pilgrimage to Tapavan, above Gangotri and Gaumukh, the source of the Ganga.

I have also travelled in my native USA a lot. I bicycled alone from Maine to Boston with a tent on my bike, camping in backyards and fields. Simply because I saw no reason not to do it.

I hitchiked from Tucson to Seattle last year, and felt the immense love of wonderful communities.

I am a wanderer.

Teach, Learn, Share

If you come visit me and we're in the company of my tabla drums, we'll play happy music!

I tend to share myself and my experiences fully. Whether it's sitting around telling stories from Indian mythology and literature, telling about my travels, or just listening and learning. I try to be present in the moment and fully engage with the people I am interacting with

Countries I’ve Visited

India

Countries I’ve Lived In

India, United States

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