Kamla K. Kapur

• Name — Kamla K. Kapur • Born — 27 July 1948 • Education — Kent State University Ohio State University • Occupation — Writer, poet, playwright • Employer — Grossmont College Delhi University • Spouse — Payson R. Stevens • Awards — Sultan Padamsee Award for Playwrighting in English (2) • Website — https: www.kamlakkapur.com/

Kapur was born and raised in India. She has roots in Chandigarh. She was raised as a Sikh and identifies as one. Nonetheless, in her writings she often creatively retells stories from both Sikhism and other faiths, especially Hindu mythologies and the writings of the Sufi mystic Rumi. She obtained an MA in Literature from Kent State University (1972), and studied creative writing at the University of Iowa. Over 1974-78, she lived in India. In this period, she taught literature at Delhi University, freelanced for The Times of India, The Hindustan Times, and The Tribune, and wrote and published poetry, short stories, and award-winning plays. Kapur was earlier married to Donald Dean Powell, a Vietnam veteran who committed suicide in 1993. In an interview with Friedmann Schaub, she attributed Powell's suicide as a fundamentally transformative event that made her more self-aware, sensitive, compassionate, and interested in mystical perspectives on suffering, such as those of the Sufis. She is married to Payson R. Stevens. They divide their time between the Kullu valley in the Indian Himalayas and Del Mar, San Diego, California.

Kapur taught literature at Grossmont College (San Diego, California) for 18 years. Kapur's writing has been featured in anthologies and journals such as Parabola and The Sun. She has been interviewed about her writings on several radio talks and podcasts in the United States.

Kapur's plays Hamlet’s Father was showcased at the Marin Shakespeare Festival (San Francisco), Kepler Dreams at the Gas Lamp Quarter Theatre (San Diego), and Clytemnestra at the Dramatic Risks Theatre Group (New York).

Her play The Curlew’s Cry was produced by the Delhi-based theatre group Yatrik. The Company, a Chandigarh-based theatre group, produced a Punjabi version of her play Clytemnestra.

• Kapur was twice awarded the 'Sultan Padamsse Award for Playwriting in English' in India, for her plays Camia in 1977 and Zenana in 1978 respectively. • She featured in the US-wide compilation Who's Who Among Asian Americans, 1994-95.