Dania Rajendra

  • Oulipost #7: two n+7s

    Well, sometimes we leapfrog. Happy to be back. The prompt is, n+7: replace every noun in your passage with the seventh after it in the dictionary. On offer was a handy generator, and I happily took full advantage of its modern power.      Isherwood, Charles, “Plugging Away at Living, Come What May,”… Read more ⇢

  • Oulipost #2: Road of War

    Lipogram, excluding N Y T I M E S.   Call… for a Port. Draw Up a war. Could a Group who Had all Bomb? Or would A good Local flow Also do?   Yusuf, Huma, “The Other Threat to Pakistan,” New York Times, 2 April 2014. Read more ⇢

  • Oulipost #1: Invest in authority, or, “Structural changes are a possibility”

    for Selah Cohort 12   Done in by a relent- less desire to expand,   the most power ful testaments to…peril …are not found.   Attention has only Begun to focus On the …financial model As a root problem.     Lots of challenging And difficult things Have been under-… Read more ⇢

  • Ouliposting

    Inspired by my grad school friend poet Nancy Long, I’ve signed up to craft found poems from the headlines every day in April, National Poetry Month. To get started, we answer some interview questions.  What excites you about Oulipost? The headline focus. Writing good, evocative headlines to fit is good… Read more ⇢

  • Busy spring!

    Happy Passover/Easter/Spring from the Deep South, where we’re already knee-deep into strawberry season. It’s been a busy first quarter. Last week, I published a quick recap of my Seder shopping adventures in Religion Dispatches Magazine. Last month, I had an interview with Restaurant Opportunity Centers-United co-founder Saru Jayaraman about her new book, Behind the Kitchen… Read more ⇢

  • Blue Coat

    I’m so pleased that the good and fun folks at Streetlight Magazine included my essay “Blue Coat” for their relaunch edition. Spring is such a great time for renewing literary ventures. In honor of Spring and Passover, here’s a quick taste — but I hope you’ll savor the whole magazine.… Read more ⇢

  • Distraction/Forthcoming

    It is a fact of literary life that journal publication is sometimes delayed. So it is with the soon-to-be-revived journal scheduled to publish one of my essays. Both essay and journal are “forthcoming.” But look over here — cake! There are certainly ways that baking a cake is like writing… Read more ⇢

  • Oil and Water… don’t mix, but we did.

    I had such a good time on Sunday reading — and spending time — with Oil and Water…And Other Things That Don’t Mix Editor Nicky Wheeler-Nicholson-Brown and contributors Laura B. Gschwandtner, Ginger McKnight-Chavers, and Maureen Doallas, who graciously coordinated us. (The book is available from Amazon and benefits Mobile, AL… Read more ⇢

  • Cupcake City

    How would you represent your hometown with a specific cupcake and flavor of frosting? For the first-ever Restaurant Worker Olympics, eight teams from across the US took the challenge — but only one could snatch the gold. Read my piece in the current Brooklyn Rail to find out who won,… Read more ⇢

Dania Rajendra

writes to showcase solidarity across many kinds of difference.

thanks for reading my words