Raj Chandarlapaty (born May 12, 1970^[1]) is an American educator and author. Chandarlapaty is a product of the American philological tradition and has researched the contributions of Jack Kerouac and William S. Burroughs. His archival research, including previously unconsidered letters, "places them and their work in a context much larger and diverse than heretofore considered."^[2]

Early life and career

Chandarlapaty graduated in 2003 with his PhD in English from the University of South Florida. While the teaching career that followed took him from Florida to Texas to Afghanistan, Chandarlapaty maintained a close relationship with his mentor at USF, Phillip Sipiora. This included writing a number of scholarly articles for The Mailer Review, an annual collection of works about author Norman Mailer that Sipiora edited. He has since published widely on Mailer, Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, James Baldwin, David Woodard, and Mohamed Mrabet, among other subjects. Chandarlapaty taught at University of Miami, Florida International University, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, and Southern University, as well as Florida Memorial University.^[3]

Taliban incident

In 2012, Chandarlapaty and his wife Sujatha, also a professor, both took jobs at the American University of Afghanistan in Kabul. On August 24, 2016 suspected Taliban terrorists attacked the campus.^[4]

"There was total chaos, we didn't know if we could escape," Chandarlapaty has said. "Many boys jumped from buildings and broke their legs, and they laid there until morning, when medics could rescue them." Nineteen people were killed, including eight students, two professors and six policemen and university security guards. Three terrorists were killed by the Afghan National Army Special Forces.^[3][a]

Chandarlapaty explained in a filmed interview that the attack stemmed from the university's unconscionable lack of security despite clear warnings.^[5]