Ira Mathur

{{Short description|Trinidadian and Tobago journalist and novelist}}

{{Infobox person

| name =

| image = Ira Award Panday.jpg

| caption = Mathur receiving award from former prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Basdeo Panday

| birth_name =

| birth_date =

| birth_place = Guwahati, India

| nationality = Trinidad and Tobago

| education =

| alma_mater = Trent University; University of London; City University, London

| occupation = Multimedia freelance journalist and writer

| known_for = Trinidad & Tobago Guardian columnist

| years_active =

| spouse =

| notable_works = Love The Dark Days (2022)

| awards = 2023 OCM Bocas Prize (non-fiction)

| website = {{url|https://www.irasroom.org/}}

}}

Ira Mathur is an Indian-born Trinidad and Tobago multimedia freelance journalist, Sunday Guardian columnist and writer. The longest-running columnist for the Sunday Guardian, she has been writing an op-ed for the paper since 1995, except for a hiatus from 2003 to 2004 when she wrote for the Trinidad and Tobago Daily Express. She has written more than eight hundred columns on politics, economics, social, health and developmental issues, locally, regionally and internationally.

Biography

Mathur was born in Guwahati, India,{{cite web|url=https://newsday.co.tt/2023/02/13/dark-days/|title=Dark days|first=BC|last=Pires|newspaper=Trinidad and Tobago Newsday|date=13 February 2023}}{{cite news|url=https://www.guardian.co.tt/article/mathur-comes-of-ageas-journalist-writer-in-iras-room-6.2.1273184.fd4e9e85c0|title=Mathur comes of age...as journalist, writer in 'Ira's Room'|newspaper=Trinidad & Tobago Guardian|date=10 January 2021}} "the offspring of a Muslim mother and a Hindu army officer",{{cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/2022/07/07/writing-back-the-irresistible-rise-of-trinidadian-authors/|title=Writing back: the irresistible rise of Trinidadian authors|newspaper=The Irish Times|first=Ira|last=Mathur|date=7 July 2022}} was educated in India and the UK, and holds a liberal arts degree in Literature and Philosophy from Trent University in Canada, as well as an LLB from the University of London and a master's degree in International Journalism from City University, London.[https://www.irasroom.org/ Ira Mathur] Biography.

Mathur gained diplomas in creative writing at the University of East Anglia/Guardian with Gillian Slovo and James Scudamore and at The Faber Academy with Maggie Gee. Mathur is currently the Trinidad Guardian{{'}}s longest-running columnist and has freelanced for the UK Guardian and the BBC. In October 2021, she was appointed uncontested president of the Media Association of T&T (MATT) at its Annual General Meeting.{{cite news |last=Kong Soo |first=Charles |title=New MATT executive appointed |newspaper=Trinidad & Tobago Guardian |url=https://guardian.co.tt/news/new-matt-executive-appointed-6.2.1394082.89be179479 |date=2 October 2021|access-date=13 December 2022}}

In 2021, Mathur was longlisted for the Bath Novel Award for her unpublished novel Touching Dr Simone. Mathur's memoir Love the Dark Days (published in 2022 by Peepal Tree Press) won the 2023 OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature in the non-fiction category and was shortlisted for the overall prize.{{Cite web |title=Announcing the 2023 OCM Bocas Prize category winners |url=https://www.bocaslitfest.com/2023/04/02/2023-ocm-bocas-prize-shortlist/|website=Bocas Lit Fest|date=2 April 2023|access-date=17 February 2025}}{{cite news|url=https://www.guardian.co.tt/article/gmls-ira-mathur-wins-bocas-prize-for-nonfiction-6.2.1672185.d86262530e|title=GML's Ira Mathur wins Bocas Prize for non-fiction|newspaper=Trinidad & Tobago Guardian|date=2 April 2023|access-date=17 February 2025}} Reviewed in The Observer, it was described by Bidisha as "a troubled and troubling book, a heady brew that stays with you."{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/jul/10/love-the-dark-days-by-ira-mathur-review-heady-memoir-about-family-dysfunction-in-india|title=Love the Dark Days by Ira Mathur review – heady memoir about family dysfunction in India|author=Bidisha|newspaper=the Observer|date=10 July 2022}} The book was named as among the best biographies of 2022 by the UK Guardian.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/dec/03/the-best-memoirs-and-biographies-of-2022|title=The best memoirs and biographies of 2022|first=Fiona|last=Sturges|newspaper=The Guardian|date=3 December 2022}}

Awards

1996: Media Excellence Awards Royal Bank/ Media Association of Trinidad and Tobago - Best Commentary (Print)
2018: Second-prize winner of the Caribbean-based Small Axe Literary Competition for short fiction (for her story "Poui").{{Cite web |date=10 January 2019 |title=Congratulations to the 2018 Small Axe Literary Competition winners {{!}} sx live |url=http://smallaxe.net/sxlive/congratulations-2018-small-axe-literary-competition-winners |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201001131655/http://smallaxe.net/literarycompetition |archive-date=1 October 2020 |access-date=14 December 2022 |website=smallaxe.net}}
2023: Non-fiction winner of the 2023 OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature.

Bibliography

Touching Dr Simone, novel (2021)
Love The Dark Days, memoir (2022)

References

External links

{{Official website|https://www.irasroom.org/}}
Sarah Dara, [http://www.renaissanceone.co.uk/blog2/2021/7/27/interview-with-ira-mathur "Interview with Ira Mathur"], Renaissance One, July 27, 2021.
[https://granta.com/in-conversation-ira-mathur-monique-roffey/ "In Conversation: Ira Mathur & Monique Roffey"], Granta, 14 October 2022.

Category:Alumni of City, University of London

Category:Alumni of King's College London

Category:Alumni of the University of East Anglia

Category:Indian emigrants to Trinidad and Tobago

Category:Indian women memoirists

Category:Living people

Category:Trent University alumni

Category:Trinidad and Tobago journalists

Category:Trinidad and Tobago novelists

Category:Trinidad and Tobago television personalities

Category:Trinidad and Tobago women journalists

Category:Trinidad and Tobago women novelists

Category:Trinidad and Tobago women writers

Category:Year of birth missing (living people)