Anand Prahlad has published three books of poems — Dreaming of Endangered Species, As Good As Mango and Hear My Story and Other Poems — as well as publishing poems and creative nonfiction in literary journals such as Fifth Wednesday, Water~Stone Review, Copper Nickle, Pleiades, The Chariton Review, and Natural Bridge. He recently completed a new collection of poetry, Hijra, which focuses on black third-gender identity.

Prahlad is a folklorist and a fellow in the American Folklore Society. He has published critical articles and books on black folklore and proverbs, including Reggae Wisdom: Proverbs in Jamaican Music and African American Proverbs in Context. He edited the three-volume set The Greenwood Encyclopedia of African American Folklore and the one-volume The Greenwood Student Encyclopedia of African American Folklore.

Prahlad is a songwriter and musician who plays multiple instruments, including the  mbira from the Shona people of Zimbabwe. He released an original blues CD, Hover Near, in 2008 and is working on a second CD. He is a cofounder of the Chiyedza Mbira Ensemble, which has performed throughout the United States with internationally renowned artists such as Musekiwa Chingodza.

Prahlad holds an MA and a PhD in folklore studies and sociolinguistics from UC Berkeley and UCLA. He is a Chancellor’s Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Missouri, where he has taught folklore, film, creative writing, and disability studies and has earned numerous major teaching awards. He serves as a faculty member in Training in Interdisciplinary Partnerships and Services (TIPS) for Kids at the Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment.