Vijaya Sundaram (she, her, hers) is the second Poet Laureate of the City of Medford, Massachusetts (2023-2025). She has published two books of poetry: Fractured Lens (by Červená Barva Press, 2023), and Reverberations (Ibbetson Street Press, 2026). Since early 2024, she has hosted a monthly Poetry Club writing group at the Medford Public Library. Since fall of 2024, she has also hosted a monthly "Spinning Words, Singing Worlds Open Mic for Poetry and Original Song" event at the Arts Collaborative Medford. She is a recipient of the 2026 Mass Cultural Council for Creative Individuals grant. In April 2026, she helped organize and host the first poetry festival in Medford: Springward Poetry Festival.
Originally from India, she lived in Arlington, MA, for ten years, and has been living in Medford since 2001. She has written short stories, plays and a short novel (not yet published). She is also a guitarist, sitarist, songwriter, singer, visual artist, and educator. Her poetry and short pieces have appeared in publications like The Rising Phoenix Press, the Stardust Review, and TELL Magazine, among others. In her role as Poet Laureate of Medford, MA, she has been a featured poet at various poetry events in Boston (Hyde Park and Charlestown), as well as in Cambridge, Newton, Arlington, and Medford. She also read at official events, such as the Medford Mayoral inauguration in January 2024, Black History Month celebrations both in 2024 and 2025, Medford’s Pride Flag day, Haiti Flag celebration, Juneteenth, and at the District Court of Somerville’s Cultural Awareness Week.
Vijaya Sundaram’s statement about poetry: Poetry is the clarion call that urges us to translate both the fullness and barrenness of life along with its joys and griefs; to experience the world with empathy and love; to create new landscapes and stories in distilled language, and to share our experiences, thus forming a community seeking truth through language and art.
