Cha: Writing Workshop Series with Mani Rao

Join Mani Rao for a small-group, MFA-style poetry editing workshop to take your poems to the next level. Limited to 10 participants only.

Workshop Description:

“Identify that shining gem of a line or phrase among the thoughts you have scribbled. Develop the ideas with the most promise. Put aside the words of no consequence. I believe the difference between a poem, and an intense poem, is editing; and I love to help poets and poems find their most intense voices. I've led poetry workshops in universities and literature festivals, from MFA to engineering students. Look forward to reading and thinking with you.”

Two weeks before the workshop, we will ask participants to upload up to 3 pages of poem onto a Google Folder. Every participant will read and comment on each other's poems using the comment function on Google Doc. During the workshop, each participant will get 10 minutes of critique time with other participants and Mani. Mani will also provide guided reading materials (other poems / essays) to help participants develop their craft. Because of the format of the workshop, we will limit the number of participants to 10 people maximum.

Workshop facilitator's bio:

Mani Rao is the author of thirteen poetry books including So That You Know (HarperCollins 2025). She translates from Sanskrit, Hindi and Telugu and her books in translation include Kalidasa: Selected Poetry and Drama, Bhagavad Gita: God's Song and Saundarya Lahari: Wave of Beauty. Researching mantra experience in tantric communities, she discovered continuing revelations and new mantras in circulation on-ground for Living Mantra: Mantra, Deities and Visionary Experience Today. After studying literature in the early 80’s Madras, she worked as an advertising and television professional for two decades in Mumbai, New Zealand and Hong Kong. A resetting of life-goals led her back to the world of learning– she then did an MFA from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, USA, and a PhD in Religious Studies from Duke University, USA. Returning to India by 2017, she began to live in Puttaparthi and Bangalore. Mani has held residencies at the Iowa International Writing Program, Omi Ledig House and the International Poetry Studies Institute, Canberra. See www.manirao.com for more information.

About Cha: Writing Workshop Series:

From 2026 onwards, Cha: Writing Workshop Series offers online workshops designed by writers with connections to Asia. We hope to broaden access of literary education and connect with one another through sharing. Our workshops are priced at a sliding scale*: full price; discounted; and full waiver to cater for people of different wage brackets. We won’t ask for proof. Cha is run on voluntary basis. If you appreciate the work we do, please consider donating to the workshop series. All the proceeds will go directly to online workshop facilitators. If you would like to learn more about Cha, please visit: https://chajournal.com/

* Due to the intimate and intermediate setting in Mani's workshop, we are unable to provide full waiver for this particular session. But please keep an eye out on our future workshops, where full waiver option will be available again.

For any queries on Cha: Writing Workshop Series, please contact Tim Tim Cheng (timtimcheng@asiancha.com).