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A. J. Thomas (born 10 June 1952) is an Indian poet, translator and editor writing in English. He is best known as editor of Indian Literature , the bimonthly English journal of Sahitya Akademi (India's National Academy of Letters) which he edited till 2010. [1] [2]
Thomas was born in Mount Illickan valley of Western Ghats. [3] His childhood was spent in Mechal, Kottayam. In 1976 he took up employment with Kerala Tourism Development Corporation. [3] Subsequently, he came in contact with internationally renowned writers like Dominique Lapierre, Sir Angus Wilson, Salman Rushdie, and Indian writers like Pritish Nandy, M. T. Vasudevan Nair who inspired him.
Thomas has translated poetry, fiction, drama and non-fiction from Malayalam to English. His first book of note was Bhaskara Pattelar and Other Stories, a translation of Paul Zacharia's stories. This was a recreation of the original with Gita Krishnankutty and Zacharia as contributors. [3]
Thomas's literary works have appeared in poetry anthologies like The Dance of the Peacock: An Anthology of English Poetry from India, [4] featuring 151 Indian English poets, edited by Vivekanand Jha and published by Hidden Brook Press, Canada. [5] and Converse: Contemporary English Poetry by Indians (2022) edited by Sudeep Sen and published by Pippa Rann Books, [London].
Thomas has received more recognition for literary translation. He won Katha award for his translation of Paul Zacharia's story "Salam America". The verse-fiction Ujjaini, based on the life of Kalidasa by O. N. V. Kurup, the doyen of Malayalam poetry, in Thomas's translation, won critical acclaim. For translating the novel Keshavan’s Lamentions, by veteran Malayalam novelist M. Mukundan, he won the Vodafone Crossword Book Award 2007. According to Dr Tapan Kumar Pradhan, the Indian Literature Golden Jubilee Awards of Sahitya Akademi were the original brain child of A. J. Thomas. [6] Thomas was the chief editor of Indian Literature till 25 August 2010. [7]
K. Satchidanandan is an Indian poet and critic, writing in Malayalam and English. A pioneer of modern poetry in Malayalam, a bilingual literary critic, playwright, editor, columnist and translator, he is the former editor of Indian Literature journal and the former secretary of Sahitya Akademi. He is also social advocate for secular anti-caste views, supporting causes like environment, human rights and free software and is a well known speaker on issues concerning contemporary Indian literature. He is the festival director of Kerala Literature Festival.
Indian poetry and Indian literature in general, has a long history dating back to Vedic times. They were written in various Indian languages such as Vedic Sanskrit, Classical Sanskrit, Ancient Meitei, Modern Meitei, Telugu, Tamil, Odia, Maithili, Kannada, Bengali, Assamese, Urdu, and Hindi. Poetry in foreign languages such as English also has a strong influence on Indian poetry. The poetry reflects diverse spiritual traditions within India. In particular, many Indian poets have been inspired by mystical experiences. Poetry is the oldest form of literature and has a rich written and oral tradition.
Paul Zacharia, popularly known mononymously as Zacharia, is an Indian writer of Malayalam literature. Known for his body of literary works composed of short stories, novellas, travelogues, screenplays, essays, columns and children's books, Zacharia is a distinguished fellow of Kerala Sahitya Akademi. He is also a recipient of the Ezhuthachan Puraskaram, Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award and the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Story.
Jayanta Mahapatra was an Indian poet. He is the first Indian poet to win a Sahitya Akademi award for English poetry. He was the author of poems such as "Indian Summer" and "Hunger", which are regarded as classics in modern Indian English literature. He was awarded a Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian honour in India in 2009, but he returned the award in 2015 to protest against rising intolerance in India.
Anita Nair is an Indian novelist who writes her books in English. She is best known for her novels A Better Man, Mistress, and Lessons in Forgetting. She has also written poetry, essays, short stories, crime fiction, historical fiction, romance, and children's literature, including Muezza and Baby Jaan: Stories from the Quran.
Indian English poetry is the oldest form of Indian English literature. Henry Louis Vivian Derozio is considered the first poet in the lineage of Indian English poetry followed by Rabindranath Tagore, Sri Aurobindo, Sarojini Naidu, Michael Madhusudan Dutt, and Toru Dutt, among others.
Gopikrishnan Kottoor is the pen name of Raghav G. Nair, an Indian English poet. He is best known for his poem "Father, Wake Us In Passing". He is also the founder editor of quarterly poetry journal Poetry Chain. Kottoor lives in Trivandrum, Kerala.
Indian Literature is an English language literary journal published bi-monthly by the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters. It was first launched in 1957, and is currently edited by British-Indian journalist Antara Dev Sen.
Tapan Kumar Pradhan is an Indian poet, writer and translator from Odisha. He is best known for his poem collection "Kalahandi" which was awarded second place in Sahitya Akademi's Golden Jubilee Indian Literature Translation Prize for Poetry in 2007. His other works include "Equation", "I, She and the Sea", "Wind in the Afternoon" and "Dance of Shiva".
Karimpumannil Mathai George (1914–2002), popularly known as Dr. K. M. George, was an eminent Malayalam writer and educator. An erudite scholar and literary critic with astute organisational capabilities, he is best known as a pioneer of Comparative Indian Studies and Literatures. He was a recipient of the fourth highest Indian civilian honour, the Padma Shri, the highest literary award of the Government of Kerala, the Ezhuthachan Puraskaram and the third highest Indian civilian award, the Padma Bhushan, besides other honours.
Keki N. Daruwalla is an Indian poet and short story writer in English. He is also a former Indian Police Service officer. He was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award, in 1984 for his poetry collection, The Keeper of the Dead, by the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters. He was awarded Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in India, in 2014.
Arundhathi Subramaniam is an Indian poet and author, who has written about culture and spirituality.
Smita Agarwal is an Indian poet and a professor of English literature at the University of Allahabad, India.
Chandrika Balan is an Indian writer who has published books in English and Malayalam, under the pen name Chandramathi, ചന്ദ്രമതി in Malayalam. She is a writer of fiction, a translator, and critic in English and Malayalam. Chandramathi has published four books in English and 20 in Malayalam, including 12 collections of short stories, an anthology of medieval Malayalam poetry, two collections of essays, two memoirs, and five books translated from English. The Malayalam film Njandukalude Nattil Oridavela was based on her book.
K. V. Dominic , an Indian poet, short story writer, editor, and critic, writing in English. He is a retired Associate Professor of the PG & Research Department of English, Newman College, Thodupuzha, Kerala. He was awarded a PhD on the novels of R. K. Narayan from Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam.
Anju Makhija is an Indian poet, playwright, translator and columnist. She has won several national and international awards for her poetry in English.
Vihang A. Naik or Vihang Ashokbhai Naik is a modern bilingual poet from Gujarat, India. He has authored many collections of poetry in English and Gujarati, besides translating poems from Gujarati into English. He died in the year 2021.
Mandakranta Sen is an Indian poet of Bengali language. She became the youngest ever winner of Ananda Puraskar in 1999 for her very first poetry book. In 2004, she was awarded Sahitya Akademi Golden Jubilee Award for poetry. She is also a lyricist, composer, fiction writer, dramatist and cover designer. She quit medical studies to become a full-time writer.
Abdul Rasheed is an Indian writer, poet, editor and translator from Karnataka. In 2004 he won Sahitya Akademi Golden Jubilee Award for lifetime achievement. He also a translator, blogger, columnist and radio personality.
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