“Vijay dismantled everything I thought I knew about anything. In place of certainty bloomed wonder and awe, which have served me far better. He held my work to standards I hadn't yet known myself capable. I will spend a lifetime failing in their pursuit—gobsmacked and grateful.”
—Jessica Hendry Nelson ‘10
“Vijay is the most profound thinker I have ever had the pleasure of knowing, and it has been an honor working with him as his student and mentee. I entered the program at SLC late in life, and the instructors there—particularly Vijay, who applied his rigorous standards to my writing with humor and kindness—set me on a path I had barely imagined was possible.”
—Dennis Bell ‘14
“Vijay is a true teacher. When you meet with Vijay you always feel that he has given your pieces deep thought and, because he is so brilliant, can see and guide you gently towards that place where your work might fit into the larger history of your genre. He is also lots of fun and clearly loves his work as a teacher. I treasure him.”
—Sally Bliumis-Dunn ‘01
“Vijay provokes you to think further, to argue with him, to read writers you have nothing in common with, to push your work to the next level. He is hands down one of the most inspiring teachers I've ever had.”
—Judy Katz ’01
“If I had to choose one thing I appreciated most about Vijay it was his insistence that we consider our poems on a ‘cellular level’—not just every line, or even every word, but every letter, the sounds and meanings between the letters. He is essential and inimitable.”
—Theresa Burns ’01
Count me in
The Vijay Seshadri Graduate Fellowship in Writing is a way to both honor a beloved Sarah Lawrence faculty member and to strengthen the program to which he has dedicated his time and talent for nearly 20 years.
With a goal of raising an endowment of $100,000, a fellowship of approximately $6,000 a year will be awarded to an incoming student to the Graduate Writing Program, chosen by the admissions committee, who will study poetry or non-fiction and has demonstrated financial need.
As part of the Campaign for Sarah Lawrence, your gift ensures that students who would thrive under the Sarah Lawrence model can benefit regardless of their financial resources.