“Critical Flash Poetics” in Yeshe: A Journal of Tibetan Literature, Arts and Humanities, November 2024
Honored to stand with my female colleagues–creative and academic writers whose work engages with Tibet, the Himalayas, and Buddhism–to share experimental pieces, raw and vulnerable from lived experience. Many thanks to Sienna Craig, Tsering Wangmo Dhompa, Tenzin Dickie, Tsering Yangzom Lama, Annabella Pitkin, and Dominique Townsend for their camaraderie in this exploration: https://yeshe.org/journal-issue-2024/
THI at Jaipur Literary Festival, September 2023
At the Jaipur Literature Festival in Boulder, Natalie Avalos and and Dawa Lokyitsang in conversation with Tsering Yangzom Lama about her debut novel, We Measure the Earth with Our Bodies. Here with Holly Gayley, representing the Tibet Himalaya Initiative (THI) which sponsored the session.
Wonderful to collaborate again with Andy Quintman for a panel on “The Lives and Afterlives of Tibetan Masters.” We explored the lives of two key figures, Milarepa and Yeshe Tsogyal, and the ways their life stories move beyond the written page into artistic, ritual and lived dimensions.
Second Lotsawa Translation Workshop at Northwestern University, October 2022
Recordings of sessions available here: https://conference.tsadra.org/past-event/the-2022-lotsawa-translation-workshop/
Celebrating Janet Gyatso at IATS in Prague, July 2022
In July 2022 in Prague, at the Sixteenth Seminar of the International Association of Tibetan Studies (IATS), we had a party for friends of Janet and the contributors to the anthology (now published) for Living Treasure: Buddhist and Tibetan Studies in Honor of Janet Gyatso.
Recent Articles on Tibetan & Himalayan Women Writers:
- “Capturing the Quotidian in the Everyday Renunciation of Buddhist Nuns in Tibet,” co-authored with Somtso Bhum. Journal of Tibetan Literature 2.1 (July 2023): 45–72.
- “Intergenerational Trauma and the Oracular Voice in Tsering Yangzom Lama’s Debut Novel, We Measure the Earth with Our Bodies.” Yeshe: Journal of Tibetan Arts, Literature and Humanities 3.1 (July 2023).
- “Parody and Pathos: Sexual Transgression by ‘Fake’ Lamas in Tibetan Short Stories,” co-authored with Somtso Bhum and published in Revue d’Etudes Tibétaines (April 2022): 62-94.
- “Karma and Female Agency in Novels by Bhutanese Women Writers.” International Journal of Bhutan & Himalayan Research, Inaugural Issue (Autumn 2020): 54–80.
Emerging Voices: Tibetan Women Writers, April 21-22, 2022 at CU Boulder
Tibetan writers with members of the Tibet Himalaya Initiative (from left to right): Padma ‘tsho, Somtso Bhum, Min Nangzey,
Emily Yeh, Holly Gayley, Tsedrön Kyi, and Nyima Tso.
Reviews of Voices from Larung Gar:
- Review of Religion and Chinese Society (April 2022) by Jue Liang
https://brill.com/view/journals/rrcs/9/1/rrcs.9.issue-1.xml - H-Buddhism (July 2021) by Andrew Taylor:
https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=56640 - Buddhist Door (April 2021) by Anam Thubten:
https://www.buddhistdoor.net/features/welcoming-voices-from-larung-gar
Book Launch Event for Voices from Larung Gar, April 2021
Online symposium with Anam Thubten, David Germano and contributors to the volume, Voices from Larung Gar: Shaping Tibetan Buddhism for the Twenty-First Century. Hosted by the Holly Gayley, Tibet Himalaya Initiative, and Michael Sheehy, UVA Tibet Center.
Award for Inseparable Across Lifetimes (Spring 2021)
Inseparable Across Lifetimes was honored with a 2021 Kayden Translation Award at the University of Colorado Boulder.
Bodhicharya Translation Team Awarded 84000 Grant, December 2020
The Bodhicharya Translation Team received a grant from 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha to translate the The Questions of Ratnacuda (Gtsug na rin po ches zhus pa’i mdo). Translation team members include: Ringu Tulku Rinpoche, Karma Wangmo, Holly Gayley, L.S. Summer, Zhujun Ma, and Joshua Shelton.
Panel at Jaipur Literary Festival
“Buddhist Love Poetry from India and Tibet”
September 2019
Buddhist love poetry sounds like an oxymoron in a tradition founded on renunciation. Yet rare testimonials of passion and love exist, spanning from medieval India to modern Tibet. Lyrical, packed with emotion, several gems of world literature are just now coming to light authored by the hermit and grammarian Bhartrihari and the tantric couple, Namtrul Rinpoche and Khandro Tare Lhamo. Andrew Schelling and Holly Gayley dialogue about the art of translation and read from their recent books of translations, Some Unquenchable Desire: Sanskrit Poems of the Buddhist Hermit Bhartrihari and Inseparable Across Lifetimes: The Lives and Love Letters of the Tibetan Visionaries, Namtrul Rinpoche and Khandro Tare Lhamo.
Photo with partner Rick Merrill.
Review of Inseparable Across Lifetimes for Buddhadharma (Fall 2019) by Sara Lewis:
https://www.lionsroar.com/along-came-a-tigress/
Award for Love Letters from Golok (Summer 2019)
Love Letters from Golok was honored with a 2019 Provost Faculty Achievement Award at the University of Colorado Boulder.
AAS Bhutan Panel in Denver, March 2019
Participants in the Bhutan Panel at the Association of Asian Studies (AAS) in Denver on Friday, March 22, 2019 (from left to right): Amy Holmes-Tagchungdarpa, Sonam Nyenda, Kalzang Dorjee Bhutia, Tsering Shakya (guest), Sonam Kinga, Tshering Om Tamang, and Holly Gayley.
Select Conference Presentations, Fall 2018 to Summer 2019
- “Ravings of a Vagabond: Spontaneity and Insight in Songs of Meditation Advice by the Visionary Bdud ‘joms gling pa,” paper delivered on a panel on Wisdom’s Eloquence: Intersections of the ‘Wise’ and the ‘Well-spoken’ in Tibetan Literature for 15th IATS Seminar in Paris, July 7–13, 2019.
- “Karma and Female Agency in Novels by Bhutanese Women Writers,” paper delivered on a panel on Contemporary Bhutanese Literature at the AAS conference in Denver, March 21–24, 2019.
- “Dudjom Lingpa’s Songs of Advice to Nuns and Yoginīs,” paper delivered at a panel on A Woman’s Place in Buddhist Dialogues: Querying the Margins of Tibetan Literature for the In/Visibility of Nuns and Yoginīs at the AAR conference in Denver, November 17–20, 2018.
Lotsawa Translation Workshop at CU Boulder | October 2018
The Lotsawa Translation Workshop was a stunning success, focusing on the theme of Buddhist devotion in Tibetan verse. At Innisfree Poetry Bookstore & Cafe in Boulder, we held a Translation/Poetry Slam in conjunction with the workshop. Among the dynamic set of offerings, I read a selection from my new book of translations, Inseparable Across Lifetimes (Shambhala Publications, coming soon). CU Boulder graduate student, Somtsobum (left), read beautifully from the Tibetan original. Read more about the workshop on the Tibet Himalaya Initiative website.
Tibet Himalaya Initiative Sponsored Two Sessions at Jaipur Literary Festival | September 2018
At the Jaipur Literature Festival in Boulder, Namita Gokhale (center) interviewed Vanessa Sasson (right) about her novel, Yasodhara: A Novel about the Buddha’s Wife.
Here with Holly Gayley (left), representing the Tibet Himalaya Initiative (THI) which sponsored the session. THI also sponsored “Toppled Worlds” about an Indian diplomat couple stationed in Tibet during the turbulent 1950s.
Conference on Buddhist Ethics at University of Southern California, June 2018
New Books Network Interview by Kristian Peterson, May 2018
My reviews of works on vegetarianism, ecological dystopia, and women in Buddhism (March 2017 to March 2018)
- “A Buddhist Depiction of Ecological Dystopia,” Response to “The Tale of Stormtamer” by Austin Pick in The Arrow Journal
- “Tibet’s Vegetarian Debate,” Review of The Food of Sinful Demons by Geoffrey Barstow in Tricycle Magazine
- Review of Echoes of Enlightenment: The Life and Legacy of the Tibetan Saint Sonam Peldren by Suzanne Bessenger on Reading Religion
Lecture at Royal University of Bhutan in February 2018
Sonam Nyenda (left), Director of the new Bhutan & Himalayan Research Centre invited me to give a lecture at Royal University of Bhutan in Thimphu. The topic was “Translating Buddhist Advice on Meditation across Languages and Cultures.” Dr. Karma Phuntsho (right) was kind enough to serve as respondent.
Wisdom Publications blog post featuring my translation of a letter of advice for solitary retreat by the Third Dodrupchen, November 2017
Solitary Retreat: Advice from the Rimé Masters of Tibet
Panel at Jaipur Literary Festival on “The Life of Milarepa: From Text to Practice,” September 2017
Panelists Judy Lief, Nikko Odiseos (moderator), Andy Quintman, and Holly Gayley (from left to right) explored themes in the life and songs of Milarepa.
Tricycle Magazine published excerpts from the Letters of Khandro Tare Lhamo and Namtrul Rinpoche, Fall 2017
Inseparable Across Lifetimes: Love Letters between Buddhist Visionaries in Contemporary Tibet
Presentation at Sakyadhita International Conference on Buddhist Women, June 2017
Photo courtesy of Alyson Prude. For a description of my paper and photos of the conference, see: An Emanation of Green Tara
Vajrayana World Interview by Lama Yeshe Wangmo, April 2017
Tare Lhamo and Namtrul Rinpoche: A Tantric Couple in Modern Tibet
Reviews of my Love Letters from Golok on the blog Lhakar Diaries by Dawa Lokyitsang, March & April 2017
- The Exceptional Tare Lhamo: Transcending Gender through Agentive Means
- Tare Lhamo and Namtrul Rinpoche: Courtship & Healing in Times of Degeneration
Premier of “Persevere” at the Garrison Theatre, Scripps College in Claremont, CA
As part of an evening of Female Esoterics in Song on March 23rd, 2017, soprano Anne Harley performed verses of Khandro Tare Lhamo and Yeshe Tsogyal alongside selections from the Therigatha. The piece, “Persevere,” was an NEA commission by composer Karola Obermüller, featuring harpist harpist Barbara Poeschl-Edrich.
I participated in a pre-performance panel, having contributed selections from Khandro Tare Lhamo’s letters to the libretto and a short essay on “Three Generations of Visionary Buddhist Women” to the program notes. While out in LA, I delivered a lecture at UCS on March 22nd titled, “On Love and Destiny: Reading the Epistolary Courtship of a Buddhist Tantric Couple.”
Shambhala Times Interview by Carole Henderson, January 2017
Terma in Dark Times: Interview with Holly Gayley
Book Launch, November 2016
Love Letters from Golok came out in time for the American Academy of Religion (AAR) Annual Meeting in San Antonio, November 19-22, 2016. Here is the author with colleague, Nancy Lin, the first to purchase a copy.
Conference Presentations on Tare Lhamo and Namtrul Rinpoche, 2013-2017
- “A Contemporary Emanation of Green Tara in Tibet,” paper presented at the 15th Sakyadhita International Conference on Buddhist Women in Hong Kong, June 22-28, 2017.
- “Situating Female Religious Authority: Gender, Genre and Geography in Eastern Tibet,” paper presented on panel, Female Lives and Narratives in Tibet, at the AAR conference in Atlanta, November 21–24, 2015.
- “Buddhist Love Letters: An Exploration of Epistolary Intimacy and Tibetan Literary Style,” paper presented on panel, Tibetan Letters, Buddhist Lives: Epistolary Approaches to the Study of Tibetan Buddhism, at the AAR conference in San Diego, November 22–25, 2014.
- “Heroine in Troubled Times: The Miracles of Khandro Tāre Lhamo during the Socialist Transformation of Tibet,” paper presented at panel on Buddhist Women Masters at the meeting of the Dharma Academy of North America, held concurrently with the 2013 AAR conference in Baltimore, November 23–26, 2013.
Radio Free Asia Interview by Richard Finney, February 2013
Rolmo Interview by Lama Yeshe Wangmo, October 2012
Reading at the Latse Library, February 2011
Reading of Tibetan love letters by Khandro Tāre Lhamo and Namtrul Rinpoche at “The Fat of My Heart: A Discussion of Expressions of Love and Desire in Tibetan Literature and Letter Writing” at the Latse Library in New York City on February 11.
HOLLY GAYLEY 