Shome Dasgupta, '99

After graduating from ESA, Shome Dasgupta, '99, earned a BA in history from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and went on to receive an MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University-Los Angeles. Shome is the author of The Seagull And The Urn (HarperCollins India), the novels The Muu-Antiques (Malarkey Books) and Tentacles Numbing (Thirty West), a prose collection Histories Of Memories (Belle Point Press), a short story collection Atchafalaya Darling (Belle Point Press), and the poetry collections Cajun South Brown Folk (Belle Point Press) and Iron Oxide (Assure Press).

Shome's writing has appeared in McSweeney's Internet Tendency, New Orleans Review, The Emerson Review, Jabberwock Review, American Book Review, Arkansas Review, Magma Poetry, and elsewhere. His fiction and poetry have been anthologized in Best Small Fictions, The &Now Awards 2: The Best Innovative Writing, and Poetic Voices Without Borders 2. Earning recognition and praise, Shome's work has been featured in South Million Writers Award Notable Story, and his stories and poems have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, Best Small Fictions, Best Microfiction, Best Of The Net, and the Orison Anthology. Shome took part in the Innovative Fiction panel as a featured author at the Louisiana Book Festival, and he served as the series editor for The Wigleaf Top 50 from 2019 to 2025.

Shome lives in Lafayette, and can be found at www.shomedome.com. Currently a high school English teacher at Ascension Episcopal School, Shome received the school’s Melinda Mangham Excellence in Teaching Award in 2025. In 2023, he was named a finalist for the United Way of Acadiana Teacher Award, recognized as one of twelve finalists out of over 1200 nominations in Lafayette Parish. He recently reached his seventh year of sobriety, and he says he couldn’t have done it without the care and kindness of his ESA family mentors, Mike Bourgeois and Andy LeGoullon.

“When I think of ESA,” Shome writes, “there are so many fond memories, especially when it comes to how the school prepared me for life—the main one being establishing a hard work ethic. It certainly gave me a foundation for all aspects of my journey since then, whether it’s related to my professional endeavors or life in general. Whether it’s through academics or extracurricular activities, or rather through the combination of both, I was able to build a solid diligence in all of my pursuits.”

Shome’s advice to our current Falcons, “Give yourself some grace, and be kind to yourself and to others. Find delight in life, whether it’s small or large or both, and share your experiences with those around you—to spread love and light can go a long way, both for yourself and the world around you.”  

Thank you, Shome!