Poet and writer Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni was born in Kolkata, India, and came to the United States to pursue graduate work, first at Wright State University, where she earned an MA, and later at the University of California-Berkeley, where she earned her PhD. Divakaruni is the Betty and Gene McDavid Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Houston. The author of numerous works of poetry and prose, she is known for her careful exploration of the immigrant experience, particularly that of South Asian women.