Divinity Dialogues | Robin Coste Lewis on Epic Poetry and the Sacredness of Female Deities

Harvard Divinity School

"The notion of a stranger, for me—the way I was raised and the way that I studied—is that the stranger just might hold the key to your liberation" Continuing "Divinity Dialogues"—a special edition podcast series from Harvard Divinity School that puts conversations on faith, purpose, and bearing witness at the center of today’s most pressing issues. Today, we hear from HDS alum Robin Coste Lewis, MTS ’97. Robin is a poet laureate, National Book Award winner, Doctor of Creative Writing and Literature, LA Woman of the Year, and avid Sanskrit scholar whose current research focuses on the intersecting production histories of early African American poetry and photography. She is also one of this year's Gomes Distinguished Alumni Honorees. In the interview, Robin delves into the connections between Sanskrit and the time-space continuum and what Shiva might be able to teach us about liberation by way of strangers. Note: The full conversation was edited for time to keep this podcast in the 30-minute range. Transcript available: https://hds.harvard.edu/news/07/06/2021/divinity-dialogues-robin-coste-lewis-epic-poetry-and-sacredness-female-deities