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Shanta Acharya (born 14 July 1953) is a poet, novelist, literary critic, and writer. The author of twelve books, her publications range from poetry, literary criticism and fiction to finance. Having successfully spent a decade in academia, initially as a lecturer in English in India and later as a doctoral student in Oxford and a post-doctoral scholar at Harvard, she moved to London to work in the financial services sector in the City. She has lived in London since 1985.

Life

Born in Cuttack, Odisha, India, Acharya attended St Joseph’s Convent and completed a first class Master’s in English at Ravenshaw College. Acharya served as a lecturer in English at Ravenshaw for four years. She was awarded a scholarship to study abroad and completed a DPhil in English at Worcester College, Oxford. Her doctoral research on the influence of Indian thought on Ralph Waldo Emerson took her to Harvard, where she was a Visiting Scholar in the Department of English and American Literature and Languages.

Career

In 1985, Shanta moved to London and joined Morgan Stanley Asset Management. She initiated talks between Morgan Stanley and the State Bank of India resulting in the launch of the first country fund for India, long before the Indian stock market was open for investments by foreign institutional investors. She was a Portfolio Manager with Swiss Bank Corporation in London, where she was responsible for managing the bank’s newly launched equity portfolio for Emerging Markets. Asiaportfolio became the bank’s largest equity portfolio within a year. At Baring Asset management, Acharya was a Senior Portfolio Manager when the firm became the largest foreign institutional investor in South Asia. From 2002-2008, Shanta was an Executive Director, Initiative on Foundation and Endowment Asset Management, at London Business School. With Elroy Dimson, she founded the Foundation and Endowment Asset Management (FEAM) programme, launched in 2006. It was the first professional development programme for managers and investors in the philanthropic sector in the UK and Europe. Acharya took early retirement from London Business School to devote more time to writing.

Literary

Acharya has written seven books of poetry, one novel, and a book of literary criticism (her doctoral thesis on The Influence of Indian Thought on Ralph Waldo Emerson). The founder director of Poetry in the House, at Lauderdale House in Highgate, London, she hosted monthly poetry readings from June 1996 – October 2015. She served on the Development Board of the Arvon Foundation in the UK. Acharya was among the Founder Members on the Board of Trustees of the Poetry School and was twice elected a member of the Council of Trustees of the Poetry Society. She remains a Life Member of the Poetry Society. Her poems and literary articles have been widely published in national and international journals and anthologies. Acharya’s collection, Imagine: New and Selected Poems brings together the finest work from Shanta Acharya’s first five books of poetry with a generous selection of new verses. Her subtly layered poems, with deep roots in two cultures, explore and reflect on the human condition. They address consciousness and creativity, issues of self and of the ways in which identity is perceived, belonging and exile, love and betrayal, suffering and realization. Moving with ease from ancient Indian scriptures and history to sharply observed lyrics about nature, from the horror and injustice of war to the absurdity of life, Acharya's work reveals the largesse of her vision. This selection is a sound introduction to an uncommon poet.

Publications

Poetry What Survives Is the Singing, (Indigo Dreams Publishing, UK; 2020) ISBN: 978-1-912876-21-1

Imagine: New and Selected Poems (HarperCollins Publishers, India; 2017) ISBN-10: ‎ 9352641655	ISBN-13: ‎ 978-9352641659

Dreams That Spell the Light (Arc Publications, UK; 2010) ISBN: 978-1904614-61-6 (pbk); ISBN: 978-1906570-05-7 (hbk)

Looking In, Looking Out (Headland Publications, UK; 2005) ISBN-10: 1902096894; ISBN 13: 978-1902096896

Shringara (Shoestring Press, UK; 2006) ISBN-10: 190488623X; ISBN-13: 978-1904886235

Numbering Our Days’ Illusions (Rockingham Press, UK; 1995) ISBN-10: 1873468342; ISBN-13: 978-1873468340

Not This, Not That (Rupa & Co, India; 1994) ISBN: 8171671527

CD

Somewhere, Something: Shanta Acharya reading a selection of her poems (Sama Arts Network Limited, UK; 2010) ISBN 978-0-9566030-0-5; Barcode – 5060240920006

Studies in American Literature: The Influence of Indian Thought on Ralph Waldo Emerson (Edwin Mellen Press, USA; 2001) ISBN 0-7734-7629-6 and SAL Series ISBN 0-88946-166-X

Novel

A World Elsewhere (iUniverse, USA; 2015) ISBN: 978-1491743645 (sc); ISBN: 978-1491743652 (e) Library of Congress Control Number: 2014915358

Publications in Finance

Endowment Asset Management: Investment Strategies in Oxford and Cambridge with Elroy Dimson (Oxford University Press, UK; 2017). ISBN: 9780199210916

Asset Management: Equities Demystified (John Wiley and Sons, Ltd; UK; 2002) ISBN: 9780471557919

Investing in India (Macmillan Press Ltd, UK; 1998) ISBN: 9780333686918

External links

•	Shanta Acharya’s official website: www.shanta-acharya.com •	Imagine: New and Selected Poems: https://harpercollins.co.in/product/imagine/ •	Arc Publications: http://www.arcpublications.co.uk/writers/shanta-acharya •	Indigo Dreams Publishing: https://www.indigodreamspublishing.com/shanta-acharya •	Inpress: https://inpressbooks.co.uk/search?q=shanta+acharya&options%5Bprefix%5D=last •	Agenda ‘On the Nature of Poetry and the Creative Process’: https://www.agendapoetry.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Fiftieth-Anniversary-Notes-FBP-13.pdf https://www.agendapoetry.co.uk/tributes/ •	Guardian Poem of the Week Beware: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/sep/26/poem-of-the-week-shanta-acharya Ambala: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/may/18/poem-of-the-week-ambala-by-shanta-acharya

Categories: 1953 births Living people People from India Indian poets Ravenshavians People from Odisha University of Oxford Alumni Worcester College London Business School Alumni