Madhav Sharma
The Soul Bone MFA in Creative Writing has attracted a wide variety of students with different educational and cultural backgrounds, each bringing their unique perspective to the creative writing process.
Madhav Sharma (he/him) joined our MFA program in the Fall 'of 2021. He was born in Bhutan and, as a young teen, fled the country due to its oppressive regime. He spent decades in Nepalese refugee camps before coming to the US where he works with refugees who have gone through what he himself went through. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife, Jyoti, his son, his parents, and his extended family. He is a creative nonfiction student in our program, writing a book about his life experiences.
Aliyah Warwick, our MFA student and admin., conducted this interview with Madhav:
Q: Where are you from originally?
A: The very first question has been the most frequently asked and deceptively, the most difficult to answer for me. I am a Bhutan-born, ethnically Nepali, British-system educated, multi-lingual (five languages) American citizen.
Q: Why did you apply to MIU's MFA in Creative Writing Program?
A: I could write an essay on this because my reasons to join MIU’s MFA are special. It begins with my life as a child where I dreamed of writing about my country of birth, its lush greenery, and captivating beauty. A strange quirk of fate forced me to leave my country, and its beauty and richness have been limited to memories now. After some three decades of dreaming, MIU captivated my attention with its fresh MFA program focused on process rather than product. When I attended an informational webinar, I fell in love with the presenters, whom I now know as Ben and Nynke. I spent no time applying and the rest is history. I am loving each day since!
Q: What kind of writing do you enjoy most?
A: While I am vacillating between creative non-fiction and fiction, I enjoy poetry most; I must admit that I have started loving Haiku, thanks to Nynke for introducing me to this new area.
Q: What is the primary writing project you hope to complete during the MFA?
A: My beloved father is 103; he has survived the world wars; he has lived in the days of Gandhi and the King, and Maharshi! This is my humble endeavor to write on him, nay, for him while he’s still among us. His life’s trajectory would be an inspiring movie!
Q: What is your favorite part of the MFA program so far?
A: The residency of course, and then making new friends. In poetry class, my favorite part has been learning about haiku and tanka.
Q: What is your creative philosophy?
A: I am not sure if I am bound by any particular philosophy, but I am open to all avenues and surprises in my creative endeavors; I give in to spontaneity and am amazed at what chances arrive at the spur of the moment!
Q: What inspires you?
A: The joy of being alive and the beauty of humanity is the greatest inspiration to me.
Q: What questions would you like to share with the world?
A: Do you know that over 80 million people are displaced from their homes today through no fault of their own? Over 26 million of them are refugees who have fled persecution and over half of this figure comprises young boys and girls under 18 who are deprived of food, shelter, love, education, and home! Can we do our part to share our love with them? Can we spare a cup of coffee so a refugee child can attend school? Can we open our door when an unfortunate child comes knocking for safety? Can we together envision a world where no child has to be homeless?
Q: How can people learn more about you?
A: You can watch this TedX Talk I gave about my life’s journey.