Deepa Rajan
Scientist · Poet · Intersectional Feminist

ABOUT DEEPA
Dr. Deepa Rajan is a scientist and writer living in San Francisco. She holds a PhD in Cell Biology from the University of California, San Francisco and is a former Fulbright Scholar at the National Centre for Biological Sciences in Bangalore, India. Her poetry, like her science, often focuses on observations of complex behaviors, conditioning, and the corporeal nature of living things - with a strong added dose of feminism. She has also modeled for San Francisco Fashion Week and blends this immersion into beauty standards and the body in her poetry. Rajan’s writing has appeared in numerous literary magazines, including The B’K Magazine, Corporeal, The Poet Heroic, Unlikely Stories, and Toil and Trouble Lit Mag. She is an avid public speaker and has given several talks about education, feminism, and science, including a TEDx talk about the effects of music on the brain. Rajan strives towards Nabokov’s adage: “A writer should have the precision of a poet and the imagination of a scientist.”
ABOUT PICKET FENCES REQUIRE PICKET LINES
Picket Fences Require Picket Lines is a fierce call to collective action against racist and sexist beauty standards. The poetry collection critiques beauty requirements in our modern society by tackling important questions about who creates them, who perpetuates them, and who profits from women’s insecurities. Uncomfortable by design, the book names the mundane violence of everyday items we have been taught to accept, from pink razors to whitening creams, which reinforce the ideal of white hairless bodies as the default for feminine beauty. The poetry pushes beyond voicing grievance and ultimately offers a solution: the picket line of collective rebellion.
To Be Released: Spring 2027
OTHER WORKS BY DEEPA
Deepa has an active collection of poetry that you can find below:
Poetry Publications
Liberation? (redrosethorns journal)
SAMPLE POEM
The poem below was originally published with our monthly publication, redrosethorns journal
Self-Care
I want to take care of myself.
I want to bathe and brush my teeth.
I want to take care of myself.
I want to get 8 hours of sleep.
I want to take care of myself.
I want to eat healthy and exercise.
I want to take care of myself.
I want to get a haircut.
I want to take care of myself
I want to add formaldehyde to my scalp.
I want to take care of myself.
I want to inject toxins into my face.
I want to take care of myself.
I want to rip hair from my vulva
until I scream and scream and scream.
~ Deepa Rajan

PRAISE & RECOGNITION
"Deepa's poetry is visceral, and boldly challenges societal messaging around beauty standards, which are often laced with sexist and racist undertones. She does not hold back in her critique, but more importantly, she offers a solution of collective action, giving us the power to stand up to harmful mores."
~ Kirsty Anne Richards, Founder & Editorial Director at redrosethorns
CONNECT WITH DEEPA
Twitter/X: @DeepaHRajan
Instagram: @deepaharirajan
Bluesky: @deeparajan.bsky.social
For press inquiries, readings, or collaborations: contact@redrosethorns.com

