Mani Rao (b.1965 India) is the author of ten poetry books,  two books in translation including the Bhagavad Gita and Kalidasa for the 21st Century Reader, and an anthropology of mantra practice. Her poems and essays are published in journals including Cordite, Tinfish, Wasafiri, Meanjin, Washington Square, Fulcrum, West Coast Line, and Interim, and in anthologies including Zoland Poetry, WWNorton’s Language for a New Century, Penguin’s 60 Indian Poets, and the BloodAxe Book of Contemporary Indian Poets. She has performed at literary festivals including the Age Melbourne Writers’ Festival, Vancouver Asian Heritage Month, Chicago Humanities Festival, New York PEN World Voices, Man Hong Kong International Literary Festival, and Singapore International Poetry Festival. Translations of her poems have been published in Latin, Italian, Korean, Chinese, Arabic, French and German. Mani has an MFA from UNLV and a PhD in religious studies from Duke University. After living, working and studying in India, Hong Kong, New Zealand and the USA, she has returned to her home country, India.