An important literary voice in South Asian and diasporic fiction, Meena Alexander was an acclaimed poet, novelist, essayist, and scholar. She was born in Allahabad, India, shortly after the country became independent; her family moved to Sudan soon after she was born. After completing school and college in Sudan, Alexander pursued her PhD in England. She taught in India at several universities, including Delhi University, Jawaharlal Nehru University, and the University of Hyderabad. Later, Alexander moved to the United States, where she taught at several prestigious institutions. Alexander was an Assistant Professor at Fordham University from 1980 to 1987 and served as the Distinguished Professor of English at Hunter College and the CUNY Graduate Center. She lived in New York City.