Satchidanandan
Encyclopedia
K. Satchidanandan is a major India
n poet
and critic
, writing in Malayalam
, and English
. Satchidanandan has established himself as an academician, editor
, translator and playwright
. Born in central Kerala
, he was a Professor of English and Editor of Indian Literature
, the journal of the Sahitya Akademi
(India’s National Academy of Literature) and the executive head of the Sahitya Akademi
for a decade (1996–2006) He has to his credit 22 collections of poetry besides many selections, 16 collections of translations of poetry and 19 collections of essays on literature, language and society-three of them in English- besides four plays and three travel narratives. He has 24 collections of his poetry in translation in 16 languages including Tamil, Hindi, Bengali, English, French, German and Italian. He has introduced several poets like Garcia Lorca, Alexander Block, Voznesensky, Pablo Neruda, Cesar Vallejo, Bertolt Brecht, Paul Celan, Zbignew Herbert, Eugenio Montale, Giuseppe Ungaretti, Mahmoud Darwish and Yehuda Amichai to Malayalam readers through translations and studies besides a lot of Black, Latin American and Indian poetry. He has also travelled widely, writing and lecturing.
K. Satchidanandan was one of the pioneers of modern poetry in Malayalam and is well known for the subtle and nuanced articulations of socio-political contexts in his poetry. Critics have noted narrativity
, irony
and philosophical contemplation on the contradictions of existence as decisive elements in his poetry. Commenting on his first collection of translations in English, the poet Jayanta Mahapatra said; “in Summer rain” we find a depth of meaning that cries out aloud to be known and read far and wide. These are poems of great strength and power, a moving tribute to the generation in which we live.” According to Carlo Savini, the Italian critic, finds him to be a poet “who resists all kinds of mass ideas and conditioning”, one who “celebrates his inner freedom even while respecting the real values of man and his soul”. Antonio Mennitti Ippolito speaks of his “many-stringed lyre”; and says he brings all these voices together in his best, dialogic, poems. Satchidanandan has received sixteen literary awards besides many honours like the Knighthood of the Order of Merit from the Government of Italy and the Medallion of Friendship from the Government of Poland.
. After his early education in the village schools, he studied biology
at Christ College, Irinjalakuda and had his Masters in English from Maharajas College, Ernakulam. He obtained his Ph.D in Post-structuralism
poetics from the University of Calicut. He joined as a lecturer in English at K.K.T.M. College, Pulloot in 1968, and moved to Christ College in 1970 where he became a Professor of English. He voluntarily retired from this post in 1992 to take up the editorship of Indian Literature, the English journal of the Indian National Academy in Delhi. In 1996 he was nominated Secretary, the Chief Executive, of the Academy, a post from which he retired in 2006. Later he served as a Consultant to the Indian Government's Department of Higher Education and to the National Translation Mission
. He currently edits Beyond Borders, a journal of South Asian literature and ideas. Satchidanandan is married, with two daughters.
Satchidanandan’s early poems were highly experimental and the publication of his first collection, Anchusooryan (Five Suns, 1971) was an important event[who said?] in Malayalam literature. The same year he launched Jwala (Flame), an avant-garde journal dedicated to experimental writing. He had earlier published a collection of essays on modern Malayalam poetry (Kurukshetram, 1970).He was also translating poetry from across the world for Kerala Kavita and other poetry journals, and writing critical articles on modern literature, arts and culture. By the mid-seventies, he had aligned himself broadly with the political left in Kerala, and was close to the New Left movement and active in its cultural wing, Janakeeya Samskarikavedi (The Forum for People’s Culture). He was also associated with other liberal political and secular forums like Desabhimani Study Circle and Kerala Sasthra Sahitya Parishad, an organisation to promote scientific outlook. He wrote many poems protesting against the Emergency in India (1975–77); many of his poems were censored and he was also interrogated by the Crime Branch. In 1978, he launched a small publishing house called Prasakthi Library that brought out anthologies of poems and short stories as well as political tracts. A collection of his poems, written between 1965 to 1982 was published in 1983. He was invited to participate in the Valmiki International Poetry Festival in New Delhi
and to represent India
at the Sarajevo Poetry Days in former Yugoslavia
in 1985. In 1988 he visited the U.S.S.R. as part of a poets’ team to take part in the Festival of India there. By this time, his poems and collections had begun to appear in other languages and his books were becoming text books in colleges.
His life in Delhi, after he took up the editorship of Indian Literature, influenced his poetry
in many ways: his concerns became broader, resulting in a series of poems on Kerala made possible by his physical distance from the district, and another series on the saint and Sufi poets of India as a part of recovering the secular heritage in the Indian tradition that he felt was getting lost in the sectarian communalism of right wing politics. In 1993 he visited Ayodhya as a part of a team of writers to protest against the destruction of Babri Masjid by the Hindu right wing. He led the writers’ team to China during the Festival of India in China in 1994. As Secretary of the Sahitya Akademi (1996–2006) he launched several new platforms for the emerging writers, especially the young, women, dalits, and tribals besides making the Akademi contemporary in the true sense.
At the same time he kept on writing, translating and editing; a good part of his literary output at this time was in English, as he was addressing a national readership, but he wrote poetry only in his mother tongue, most of which he, along with others, translated into English. He took part in the Ivry Poetry Festival in France
in 1997, led a team of writers to Sweden and visited the U.S.A. as a writer the same year. He led a group of writers to Italy in 1999, revisited China
in 2000 and again in 2010. In 2002 he was invited to the World Poetry Academy in Verona, Italy, and was active in the campaign against the genocide in Gujarat committed by the Hindu communalists there. His collection of poems in French
was published in Paris in 2002. In 2003 he visited France
again for readings in five cities as part of the poetry festival, Prentemps des Poetes. In 2004, he visited Syria, New York
in the United States and Pakistan
as part of the Indian writers’ delegations to those countries; his collection in Italian was published in Rome the same year. He was the Indian invitee to the Berlin Literary Festival in 2005, and read at the Frankfurt Book Fair
. He was also an invitee to the Leipzig Book Fair and the Abu Dhabi Book Fair in 2006. He again visited Germany
in 2006, after his retirement from the Academy when his German
collection was released during the Frankfurt Book fair. The same year saw the publication of his Collected Poems (1965–2005) in three volumes. The first volume of his Collected Translations of poetry came out in 2007. In 2007, he again visited Italy
, had a reading tour in the Gulf countries and was invited to the Jaipur International Literary Festival in 2008. He represented India at the London Book Fair, 2009 and the Moscow Book fair (2009).His collection of poems in Arabic translation was published in 2009 from Abu Dhabi..A documentary film on him, Summer Rain was released in 2007. He was also tipped for Nobel Prize in literature
2011 which ultimately went to Swedish poet Tomas Tranströmer
.
2. The Best Public Observer Prize, Indian Youth Association, Kerala, 1986.
3. Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Poetry, Kerala, 1989.
4. Sreekant Verma Fellowship for Poetry Translation, Govt. of Madhya Pradesh, 1990
5. Oman Cultural Centre Award for Total Literary Contribution, Oman U.A.E., 1993.
6. Mahakavi Ulloor Award for Poetry, Kerala, 1996.
7. Mahakavi P. Kunhiraman Nair Award for Poetry, Kerala, 1997.
8. Bharatiya Bhasha Parishad Samvatsar Award for Poetry, Kolkata, 1998.
9. Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Drama, Kerala, 1999
10. Senior Fellowship from Department of Culture, Govt. of India, 1999
11. Ganakrishti Puraskar for Poetry, Kolkata, 2000
12. Kumaran Asan Award for Poetry, Chennai, 2000
13. Odakkuzhal Award for Poetry, Kerala, 2001
14. Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Travelogue, Kerala, 2001
15. Manaveeyam Cultural Mission (Govt. of Kerala) memento for ‘Service to Humanity through Literature’, 2001.
16. Bahrain Keraleeya Samajam Award for Total Literary Contribution, Kingdom Of Bahrain, 2002
17. Gangadhar Meher National Award for Poetry, Sambalpur University, Orissa, 2002
18. Pandalam Kerala Verma Award for Poetry, Kerala, 2005
19. Bappureddy National Award for Literature, Hyderabad, A.P. 2005
20. Vayalar Award for Poetry, Kerala, 2005
21. Friendship Medal, Govt. of Poland, 2005
22. Sahityasree, Hindi Sammelan, Delhi, 2006
23. Knighthood of the Order of Merit, Govt. of Italy, 2006
24. Sree Kerala Varma Sahitya Puraskaram, 2006
25. K. Kuttikrishnan Memorial Award for Poetry, Kerala, 2007
26. Subrahmanya Shenoi Memorial Award for Total Literary Contribution, 2008
27. Kadammanitta Ramakrishnan Memorial Award from Bahrain, 2009
28. Patmaprabha Puraskaram, 2009
29. Kerala Sahithya Akademi Award for Translation, 2009
1. Anchu Sooryan (Five Suns, 1971)
2. Atmagita (The Song of the Self, 1974)
3. Kavita (Poetry, 1977, 82, 84)
4. Indian Sketchukal (Indian Sketches, 1978)
5. Ezhuthachan Ezhutumbol (When the Poet Writes, 1979, 85, 87, 89)
6. Peedana Kalam (Times of Torment, 1981, 89)
7. Venal Mazha (The Summer Rain, 1982)
8. Randu Derrgha Kavyangal (Two Long Poems, 1983)
9. Satchidanandante Kavithakal 1962-82 (Poems 1962-82, 1983,87)
10. Socrateesum Kozhiyum (Socrates and the Cock, 1984)
11. Ivanekkoodi (Him, too, 1987, 89, 90, 95, 97)
12. Veedumattam (Changing House, 1988)
13. Kayattam (The Ascent, 1990)
14. Kavibuddhan (The Poet as Buddha, 1992)
15. Eenta Satchidanandan Kavitakal, Ed. Balachandran Chullikkad (Selected poems 1993)
16. Desatanam (Going Places, 1994, 1995)
17. Malayalam (1996, 1998, 2003))
18. Apoornam (Imperfect, 1998)
19. Theranjedutha Kavitakal (Selected Poems, 1999)
20. Sambhashanathinu Oru Sramam (An Attempt to Converse, 2000)
21. Vikku, (Stammer, 2002)
22. Sakshyangal (Witness, 2004)
23. Ghazalukal, Geetangal (Ghazals and Geets, 2005)
24. Satchidanandte Kavithakal (Poems 1965-2005, 2006)
25. Anantam (Infinite, 2006)
26. Onnaam Padham (The First Lesson, 2006)
27. Ente Kavita (My Poems, 2008)
28. Marannunacha Vasthukkal (2009)
Plays
29. Saktan Thampuran (One-act Plays, 1983)
30. GANDHI (Full-length Play, 1995)
Prose
31. Kurukshetram (Studies in Modern Poetry, 1970)
32. Janatayum Kavitayum ((Poetry and the People, 1982, 84)
33. Marxian Soundarya Sastram (Marxian Aesthetics, 1983, 90)
34. Thiranjedutha Lekhanangal (Selected Essays, 1985)
35. Pablo Neruda (A Lecture on Pablo Neruda, 1985, 1990, Revised, 2007))
36. Samvadangal (Dialogues: on society, culture, politics, religion education, ecology and literature, 1986)
37. Sameepananangal (Approaches, 1986)
38. Samskarathinte Rashtreeyam (The Politics of Culture, 1989)
39. Sambhashanangal (Conversations: a collection of Interviews given, 1989)
40. Brechtinte Kala (The Art of Bertolt Brecht, 1989, Revised, 2007)
41. Padavukal (Steps: Early articles, 1990)
42. Kazhchakal, Kazhachappadukal (Sights and Visions: Travelogues, 1991)
43. Anveshanangal (Enquiries, 1991)
44. Veenduvicharangal (Rethinkings, 1992)
45. Soundaryavum Adhikaravum (Beauty and Power : on Aesthetics and Politics, 1993)
46. Muhurtangal (Moments, selected Essays on Malayalam Literature, 1996)
47. Pala Lokam, Pala Kalam (Many Times, Many Worlds, Travel Writings, 1998)
48. Kalayum Nishedhavum (Art and Dissent, 1999)
49. Bharateeya Kavitayile Pratirodha Paramparyam (The Tradition of Dissent of Indian Poetry, 2002)
50. Moonnu Yatra (Three Travels, Travelogues, 2004)
51. Kizhakkum Padinjarum (East and West, Travelogues, 2005)
52. Adithattukal (Foundations, Essays, 2006)
53. Mukhamukham (Interviews, 2006)
2. Selected Poems (Gujarati, Ahmedabad1989)
3. Irachasakshigal (Selected Poems, Tamil, Coimbatore, 1990)
4. Summer Rain: Three Decades of Poetry (English, Delhi, 1995)
5. Voh Jise Sab Yad Tha (Selected Poems, Hindi, Delhi, 1996)
6. Nanna Mai Nagara (Selected Poems, Kannada, Bangalore, 1996)
7. How To Go To The Tao Temple (New Poems, English, Delhi, 1998)
8. Sachidanandan Kavitaikal (Selected Poems, Tamil, Madras, 1998)
9. Sareeram Oru Nagaram (Selected Poems, Tamil, Madras, 1999)
10. Apoorna Aura Anya Karitayem (Poems, Hindi, Delhi, 2000)
11. Imperfect and Other New Poems (Poems, English, Calicut, 2000)
12. Sagar Teerer Kavita (Poems, Assamese, Guwahati, 2001)
13. Sachidanandaner Kavita (Poems, Bengali, Calcutta, 2001)
14. So Many Births (Poems, English, Delhi, 2001)
15. Kavitai Meendum Varum (Poems, Tamil, Madras, 2002)
16. Peele Pathe Da Supna (Poems, Punjabi, Delhi, 2002)
17. Ghar O Anyanya Kabita (Poems, Oriya, Cuttack, 2002)
18. Tant De Vies: L’Incomplet et autres poemes (Poems, French, Paris, 2002)
19. Haklahat (Poems, Hindi, Delhi, 2004)
20. Ham Jazeeraun Mein Rahte Hein (Poems, Urdu, Hyderabad, 2004)
21. Sareeram Oka Nagaram (Poems, Telugu, Hyderabad, 2004)
22. I Riti Della Terra (Poems, Italian, Rome, 2004)
23. Suruatem (Poems, Hindi, 2005)
24. Stammer and Other Poems (Poems, English, 2005)
25. Ich Glaube Nicht An Grenzen (Poems, German, 2006)
26. Luknat (Poems, Urdu, 2008)
27. How Did Mayakovsky Commit Suicide(Poems, Arabic, 2009)
28. Bharatiya Sahitya: Sthapanayem Aur Prasthavanayem (Indian Literature : Positions and Propositions, 2003)
1. Indian Literature: Positions and Propositions (Essays in Indian Literature, Delhi, 1999)
2. Authors, Texts, Issues (Essays in Indian Literature, Delhi 2002)
3. Indian Literature Paradigms and Perspectives (Essays in Indian Literature, Delhi, 2008)
4. Readings, Indian Literature and Beyond (Essays in Indian Literature, Delhi, 2009)
2. Navasargam : Dr. M. Leelavathy (A Chapter on the Poet)
3. Haritha Niropanam Malayalathil : Ed. G. Madhusudanan (An eco-aesthetic study on the poem, Ezhimala)
4. Bible Adhunika Kavithayil, Fr. Joseph Cheeran (A l00-page Chapter on Bible and Satchidanandan’s Poetry)
5. Sambhashanangal : Conversations with Satchidanandan
6. Mukhamukham : Collection of Interviews with Satchidanandan
2. MAKING IT NEW : IIAS, Shimla 1995 : E.V. Ramakrishnan (Chapter ‘Living on the Faultline : The Poetry of Satchidanandan; also Interview)
3. INDIAN REVIEW OF BOOKS , Chennai, 8 Dec-Jan.1998-99. Review Article, ‘Sensitive Reflections’ by Pramod Menon
4. THE BOOK REVIEW, Delhi, April 2001, Review Article, ‘The Dialectic of Poetry’ by E.V. Ramakrishnan
5. WORLD LITERATURE TODAY, Minnesota, Spring 2002, Review Article, ‘So Many Births’ by John Oliver Perry
6. DECCAN HERALD, Bangalore, 4 Oct. 2003, Article ‘Reminiscences of a Poet’ by Lakshmee Rajeev
7. GBD’S OF ASSAM LETTERS, Guwahati, 2004, Article ‘Reflection’s on Life’ by Jaykanta Sharma
8. HOW TO GO TO THE TAO TEMPLE, Delhi, 1998, ‘Modernism and Beyond’, Interview by Makarand Paranjape
9. THE GULF TODAY, Dubai, 24 May 2001, ‘Packaging Exotic Life’, Article by Rajeev Poduval
10. THE CREATIVE MIND, Delhi, July-Sept. 2004, ‘Master Magician in Literature’, Interview and article by Sujata Chowdhuri
2. ICH GLAUBE NICHT AN GRENZEN,Frankfurt, 2006, Introduction , Interview
1. TANT DE VIES : L’incomplet let it autres poems, Editions Characteres, Paris, 2002, Introduction by Martine Chemana.
2. RAGMALA, Anne Cestaing (ed.) Languages & Mondes, Paris, 2005, Article and Extract
2. I RITI DELLA TERRA, Castelvecchi, Rome, Feb. 2005, Introduction ‘Tradurre Versi’ by Giulia Gatti
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
and critic
Critic
A critic is anyone who expresses a value judgement. Informally, criticism is a common aspect of all human expression and need not necessarily imply skilled or accurate expressions of judgement. Critical judgements, good or bad, may be positive , negative , or balanced...
, writing in Malayalam
Malayalam language
Malayalam , is one of the four major Dravidian languages of southern India. It is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India with official language status in the state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry. It is spoken by 35.9 million people...
, and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. Satchidanandan has established himself as an academician, editor
Editor
The term editor may refer to:As a person who does editing:* Editor in chief, having final responsibility for a publication's operations and policies* Copy editing, making formatting changes and other improvements to text...
, translator and playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
. Born in central Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
, he was a Professor of English and Editor of Indian Literature
Indian Literature (journal)
Indian Literature is an English-language literary journal published bi-monthly by the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters. the editor was A. J. Thomas, and Gopi Chand Narang, Sunil Gangopadhyaya and Agrahara Krishna Murthy, inspired by K...
, the journal of the Sahitya Akademi
Sahitya Akademi
The Sahitya Akademi ', India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India...
(India’s National Academy of Literature) and the executive head of the Sahitya Akademi
Sahitya Akademi
The Sahitya Akademi ', India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India...
for a decade (1996–2006) He has to his credit 22 collections of poetry besides many selections, 16 collections of translations of poetry and 19 collections of essays on literature, language and society-three of them in English- besides four plays and three travel narratives. He has 24 collections of his poetry in translation in 16 languages including Tamil, Hindi, Bengali, English, French, German and Italian. He has introduced several poets like Garcia Lorca, Alexander Block, Voznesensky, Pablo Neruda, Cesar Vallejo, Bertolt Brecht, Paul Celan, Zbignew Herbert, Eugenio Montale, Giuseppe Ungaretti, Mahmoud Darwish and Yehuda Amichai to Malayalam readers through translations and studies besides a lot of Black, Latin American and Indian poetry. He has also travelled widely, writing and lecturing.
K. Satchidanandan was one of the pioneers of modern poetry in Malayalam and is well known for the subtle and nuanced articulations of socio-political contexts in his poetry. Critics have noted narrativity
Narrativity
In film theory, narrativity refers to the processes by which a story is both presented by the filmmaker and interpreted by the viewer. The term must be distinguished from narrative, which refers to the story itself....
, irony
Irony
Irony is a rhetorical device, literary technique, or situation in which there is a sharp incongruity or discordance that goes beyond the simple and evident intention of words or actions...
and philosophical contemplation on the contradictions of existence as decisive elements in his poetry. Commenting on his first collection of translations in English, the poet Jayanta Mahapatra said; “in Summer rain” we find a depth of meaning that cries out aloud to be known and read far and wide. These are poems of great strength and power, a moving tribute to the generation in which we live.” According to Carlo Savini, the Italian critic, finds him to be a poet “who resists all kinds of mass ideas and conditioning”, one who “celebrates his inner freedom even while respecting the real values of man and his soul”. Antonio Mennitti Ippolito speaks of his “many-stringed lyre”; and says he brings all these voices together in his best, dialogic, poems. Satchidanandan has received sixteen literary awards besides many honours like the Knighthood of the Order of Merit from the Government of Italy and the Medallion of Friendship from the Government of Poland.
Life and career
Koyamparambath Satchidanandan was born in 1946 in Pulloot, a village in Kodungallur in the Thrissur district of KeralaKerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
. After his early education in the village schools, he studied biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
at Christ College, Irinjalakuda and had his Masters in English from Maharajas College, Ernakulam. He obtained his Ph.D in Post-structuralism
Post-structuralism
Post-structuralism is a label formulated by American academics to denote the heterogeneous works of a series of French intellectuals who came to international prominence in the 1960s and '70s...
poetics from the University of Calicut. He joined as a lecturer in English at K.K.T.M. College, Pulloot in 1968, and moved to Christ College in 1970 where he became a Professor of English. He voluntarily retired from this post in 1992 to take up the editorship of Indian Literature, the English journal of the Indian National Academy in Delhi. In 1996 he was nominated Secretary, the Chief Executive, of the Academy, a post from which he retired in 2006. Later he served as a Consultant to the Indian Government's Department of Higher Education and to the National Translation Mission
National Translation Mission
National Translation Mission is a Government of India initiative to make knowledge texts accessible, in all Indian languages listed in the VIII schedule of the Constitution, through translation. NTM was set up as per National Knowledge Commission's recommendation...
. He currently edits Beyond Borders, a journal of South Asian literature and ideas. Satchidanandan is married, with two daughters.
Satchidanandan’s early poems were highly experimental and the publication of his first collection, Anchusooryan (Five Suns, 1971) was an important event[who said?] in Malayalam literature. The same year he launched Jwala (Flame), an avant-garde journal dedicated to experimental writing. He had earlier published a collection of essays on modern Malayalam poetry (Kurukshetram, 1970).He was also translating poetry from across the world for Kerala Kavita and other poetry journals, and writing critical articles on modern literature, arts and culture. By the mid-seventies, he had aligned himself broadly with the political left in Kerala, and was close to the New Left movement and active in its cultural wing, Janakeeya Samskarikavedi (The Forum for People’s Culture). He was also associated with other liberal political and secular forums like Desabhimani Study Circle and Kerala Sasthra Sahitya Parishad, an organisation to promote scientific outlook. He wrote many poems protesting against the Emergency in India (1975–77); many of his poems were censored and he was also interrogated by the Crime Branch. In 1978, he launched a small publishing house called Prasakthi Library that brought out anthologies of poems and short stories as well as political tracts. A collection of his poems, written between 1965 to 1982 was published in 1983. He was invited to participate in the Valmiki International Poetry Festival in New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
and to represent India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
at the Sarajevo Poetry Days in former Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
in 1985. In 1988 he visited the U.S.S.R. as part of a poets’ team to take part in the Festival of India there. By this time, his poems and collections had begun to appear in other languages and his books were becoming text books in colleges.
His life in Delhi, after he took up the editorship of Indian Literature, influenced his poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
in many ways: his concerns became broader, resulting in a series of poems on Kerala made possible by his physical distance from the district, and another series on the saint and Sufi poets of India as a part of recovering the secular heritage in the Indian tradition that he felt was getting lost in the sectarian communalism of right wing politics. In 1993 he visited Ayodhya as a part of a team of writers to protest against the destruction of Babri Masjid by the Hindu right wing. He led the writers’ team to China during the Festival of India in China in 1994. As Secretary of the Sahitya Akademi (1996–2006) he launched several new platforms for the emerging writers, especially the young, women, dalits, and tribals besides making the Akademi contemporary in the true sense.
At the same time he kept on writing, translating and editing; a good part of his literary output at this time was in English, as he was addressing a national readership, but he wrote poetry only in his mother tongue, most of which he, along with others, translated into English. He took part in the Ivry Poetry Festival in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in 1997, led a team of writers to Sweden and visited the U.S.A. as a writer the same year. He led a group of writers to Italy in 1999, revisited China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
in 2000 and again in 2010. In 2002 he was invited to the World Poetry Academy in Verona, Italy, and was active in the campaign against the genocide in Gujarat committed by the Hindu communalists there. His collection of poems in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
was published in Paris in 2002. In 2003 he visited France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
again for readings in five cities as part of the poetry festival, Prentemps des Poetes. In 2004, he visited Syria, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in the United States and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
as part of the Indian writers’ delegations to those countries; his collection in Italian was published in Rome the same year. He was the Indian invitee to the Berlin Literary Festival in 2005, and read at the Frankfurt Book Fair
Frankfurt Book Fair
The Frankfurt Book Fair is the world's largest trade fair for books, based on the number of publishing companies represented. As to the number of visitors, the Turin Book Fair attracts about as many visitors, viz. some 300,000....
. He was also an invitee to the Leipzig Book Fair and the Abu Dhabi Book Fair in 2006. He again visited Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in 2006, after his retirement from the Academy when his German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
collection was released during the Frankfurt Book fair. The same year saw the publication of his Collected Poems (1965–2005) in three volumes. The first volume of his Collected Translations of poetry came out in 2007. In 2007, he again visited Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, had a reading tour in the Gulf countries and was invited to the Jaipur International Literary Festival in 2008. He represented India at the London Book Fair, 2009 and the Moscow Book fair (2009).His collection of poems in Arabic translation was published in 2009 from Abu Dhabi..A documentary film on him, Summer Rain was released in 2007. He was also tipped for Nobel Prize in literature
Nobel Prize in Literature
Since 1901, the Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded annually to an author from any country who has, in the words from the will of Alfred Nobel, produced "in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction"...
2011 which ultimately went to Swedish poet Tomas Tranströmer
Tomas Tranströmer
Tomas Gösta Tranströmer is a Swedish writer, poet and translator, whose poetry has been translated into over 60 languages. Tranströmer is acclaimed as one of the most important Scandinavian writers since the Second World War...
.
Awards and honours
1. Kerala Sahitya Akademi C.B. Kumar Award for Essays, Kerala, 1984.2. The Best Public Observer Prize, Indian Youth Association, Kerala, 1986.
3. Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Poetry, Kerala, 1989.
4. Sreekant Verma Fellowship for Poetry Translation, Govt. of Madhya Pradesh, 1990
5. Oman Cultural Centre Award for Total Literary Contribution, Oman U.A.E., 1993.
6. Mahakavi Ulloor Award for Poetry, Kerala, 1996.
7. Mahakavi P. Kunhiraman Nair Award for Poetry, Kerala, 1997.
8. Bharatiya Bhasha Parishad Samvatsar Award for Poetry, Kolkata, 1998.
9. Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Drama, Kerala, 1999
10. Senior Fellowship from Department of Culture, Govt. of India, 1999
11. Ganakrishti Puraskar for Poetry, Kolkata, 2000
12. Kumaran Asan Award for Poetry, Chennai, 2000
13. Odakkuzhal Award for Poetry, Kerala, 2001
14. Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Travelogue, Kerala, 2001
15. Manaveeyam Cultural Mission (Govt. of Kerala) memento for ‘Service to Humanity through Literature’, 2001.
16. Bahrain Keraleeya Samajam Award for Total Literary Contribution, Kingdom Of Bahrain, 2002
17. Gangadhar Meher National Award for Poetry, Sambalpur University, Orissa, 2002
18. Pandalam Kerala Verma Award for Poetry, Kerala, 2005
19. Bappureddy National Award for Literature, Hyderabad, A.P. 2005
20. Vayalar Award for Poetry, Kerala, 2005
21. Friendship Medal, Govt. of Poland, 2005
22. Sahityasree, Hindi Sammelan, Delhi, 2006
23. Knighthood of the Order of Merit, Govt. of Italy, 2006
24. Sree Kerala Varma Sahitya Puraskaram, 2006
25. K. Kuttikrishnan Memorial Award for Poetry, Kerala, 2007
26. Subrahmanya Shenoi Memorial Award for Total Literary Contribution, 2008
27. Kadammanitta Ramakrishnan Memorial Award from Bahrain, 2009
28. Patmaprabha Puraskaram, 2009
29. Kerala Sahithya Akademi Award for Translation, 2009
Own works in Malayalam
Poetry1. Anchu Sooryan (Five Suns, 1971)
2. Atmagita (The Song of the Self, 1974)
3. Kavita (Poetry, 1977, 82, 84)
4. Indian Sketchukal (Indian Sketches, 1978)
5. Ezhuthachan Ezhutumbol (When the Poet Writes, 1979, 85, 87, 89)
6. Peedana Kalam (Times of Torment, 1981, 89)
7. Venal Mazha (The Summer Rain, 1982)
8. Randu Derrgha Kavyangal (Two Long Poems, 1983)
9. Satchidanandante Kavithakal 1962-82 (Poems 1962-82, 1983,87)
10. Socrateesum Kozhiyum (Socrates and the Cock, 1984)
11. Ivanekkoodi (Him, too, 1987, 89, 90, 95, 97)
12. Veedumattam (Changing House, 1988)
13. Kayattam (The Ascent, 1990)
14. Kavibuddhan (The Poet as Buddha, 1992)
15. Eenta Satchidanandan Kavitakal, Ed. Balachandran Chullikkad (Selected poems 1993)
16. Desatanam (Going Places, 1994, 1995)
17. Malayalam (1996, 1998, 2003))
18. Apoornam (Imperfect, 1998)
19. Theranjedutha Kavitakal (Selected Poems, 1999)
20. Sambhashanathinu Oru Sramam (An Attempt to Converse, 2000)
21. Vikku, (Stammer, 2002)
22. Sakshyangal (Witness, 2004)
23. Ghazalukal, Geetangal (Ghazals and Geets, 2005)
24. Satchidanandte Kavithakal (Poems 1965-2005, 2006)
25. Anantam (Infinite, 2006)
26. Onnaam Padham (The First Lesson, 2006)
27. Ente Kavita (My Poems, 2008)
28. Marannunacha Vasthukkal (2009)
Plays
29. Saktan Thampuran (One-act Plays, 1983)
30. GANDHI (Full-length Play, 1995)
Prose
31. Kurukshetram (Studies in Modern Poetry, 1970)
32. Janatayum Kavitayum ((Poetry and the People, 1982, 84)
33. Marxian Soundarya Sastram (Marxian Aesthetics, 1983, 90)
34. Thiranjedutha Lekhanangal (Selected Essays, 1985)
35. Pablo Neruda (A Lecture on Pablo Neruda, 1985, 1990, Revised, 2007))
36. Samvadangal (Dialogues: on society, culture, politics, religion education, ecology and literature, 1986)
37. Sameepananangal (Approaches, 1986)
38. Samskarathinte Rashtreeyam (The Politics of Culture, 1989)
39. Sambhashanangal (Conversations: a collection of Interviews given, 1989)
40. Brechtinte Kala (The Art of Bertolt Brecht, 1989, Revised, 2007)
41. Padavukal (Steps: Early articles, 1990)
42. Kazhchakal, Kazhachappadukal (Sights and Visions: Travelogues, 1991)
43. Anveshanangal (Enquiries, 1991)
44. Veenduvicharangal (Rethinkings, 1992)
45. Soundaryavum Adhikaravum (Beauty and Power : on Aesthetics and Politics, 1993)
46. Muhurtangal (Moments, selected Essays on Malayalam Literature, 1996)
47. Pala Lokam, Pala Kalam (Many Times, Many Worlds, Travel Writings, 1998)
48. Kalayum Nishedhavum (Art and Dissent, 1999)
49. Bharateeya Kavitayile Pratirodha Paramparyam (The Tradition of Dissent of Indian Poetry, 2002)
50. Moonnu Yatra (Three Travels, Travelogues, 2004)
51. Kizhakkum Padinjarum (East and West, Travelogues, 2005)
52. Adithattukal (Foundations, Essays, 2006)
53. Mukhamukham (Interviews, 2006)
Poetry in other languages
1. Andha Admi Jisne Soorya Khoja (Selected Poems, Hindi, Delhi, 1987)2. Selected Poems (Gujarati, Ahmedabad1989)
3. Irachasakshigal (Selected Poems, Tamil, Coimbatore, 1990)
4. Summer Rain: Three Decades of Poetry (English, Delhi, 1995)
5. Voh Jise Sab Yad Tha (Selected Poems, Hindi, Delhi, 1996)
6. Nanna Mai Nagara (Selected Poems, Kannada, Bangalore, 1996)
7. How To Go To The Tao Temple (New Poems, English, Delhi, 1998)
8. Sachidanandan Kavitaikal (Selected Poems, Tamil, Madras, 1998)
9. Sareeram Oru Nagaram (Selected Poems, Tamil, Madras, 1999)
10. Apoorna Aura Anya Karitayem (Poems, Hindi, Delhi, 2000)
11. Imperfect and Other New Poems (Poems, English, Calicut, 2000)
12. Sagar Teerer Kavita (Poems, Assamese, Guwahati, 2001)
13. Sachidanandaner Kavita (Poems, Bengali, Calcutta, 2001)
14. So Many Births (Poems, English, Delhi, 2001)
15. Kavitai Meendum Varum (Poems, Tamil, Madras, 2002)
16. Peele Pathe Da Supna (Poems, Punjabi, Delhi, 2002)
17. Ghar O Anyanya Kabita (Poems, Oriya, Cuttack, 2002)
18. Tant De Vies: L’Incomplet et autres poemes (Poems, French, Paris, 2002)
19. Haklahat (Poems, Hindi, Delhi, 2004)
20. Ham Jazeeraun Mein Rahte Hein (Poems, Urdu, Hyderabad, 2004)
21. Sareeram Oka Nagaram (Poems, Telugu, Hyderabad, 2004)
22. I Riti Della Terra (Poems, Italian, Rome, 2004)
23. Suruatem (Poems, Hindi, 2005)
24. Stammer and Other Poems (Poems, English, 2005)
25. Ich Glaube Nicht An Grenzen (Poems, German, 2006)
26. Luknat (Poems, Urdu, 2008)
27. How Did Mayakovsky Commit Suicide(Poems, Arabic, 2009)
Prose in other languages
27. Marxiya Azagiyar (Marxian Aesthetics, Tamil, 1986)28. Bharatiya Sahitya: Sthapanayem Aur Prasthavanayem (Indian Literature : Positions and Propositions, 2003)
Original works in English
1. Indian Literature: Positions and Propositions (Essays in Indian Literature, Delhi, 1999)
2. Authors, Texts, Issues (Essays in Indian Literature, Delhi 2002)
3. Indian Literature Paradigms and Perspectives (Essays in Indian Literature, Delhi, 2008)
4. Readings, Indian Literature and Beyond (Essays in Indian Literature, Delhi, 2009)
Malayalam
1. Satchidanandante Lokangal : (The Worlds of Satchidanandan) : Essays on the poets’ works.2. Navasargam : Dr. M. Leelavathy (A Chapter on the Poet)
3. Haritha Niropanam Malayalathil : Ed. G. Madhusudanan (An eco-aesthetic study on the poem, Ezhimala)
4. Bible Adhunika Kavithayil, Fr. Joseph Cheeran (A l00-page Chapter on Bible and Satchidanandan’s Poetry)
5. Sambhashanangal : Conversations with Satchidanandan
6. Mukhamukham : Collection of Interviews with Satchidanandan
English
1. MALAYALAM LITERARY SURVEY : Kerala Sahitya Akademi, Trichur (Article ‘Under the Bodhi Tree : A Study of the Images of Thathagatha in Satchidanandan’s poems’ by Dr. A.R. Vijayaraghavan.2. MAKING IT NEW : IIAS, Shimla 1995 : E.V. Ramakrishnan (Chapter ‘Living on the Faultline : The Poetry of Satchidanandan; also Interview)
3. INDIAN REVIEW OF BOOKS , Chennai, 8 Dec-Jan.1998-99. Review Article, ‘Sensitive Reflections’ by Pramod Menon
4. THE BOOK REVIEW, Delhi, April 2001, Review Article, ‘The Dialectic of Poetry’ by E.V. Ramakrishnan
5. WORLD LITERATURE TODAY, Minnesota, Spring 2002, Review Article, ‘So Many Births’ by John Oliver Perry
6. DECCAN HERALD, Bangalore, 4 Oct. 2003, Article ‘Reminiscences of a Poet’ by Lakshmee Rajeev
7. GBD’S OF ASSAM LETTERS, Guwahati, 2004, Article ‘Reflection’s on Life’ by Jaykanta Sharma
8. HOW TO GO TO THE TAO TEMPLE, Delhi, 1998, ‘Modernism and Beyond’, Interview by Makarand Paranjape
9. THE GULF TODAY, Dubai, 24 May 2001, ‘Packaging Exotic Life’, Article by Rajeev Poduval
10. THE CREATIVE MIND, Delhi, July-Sept. 2004, ‘Master Magician in Literature’, Interview and article by Sujata Chowdhuri
German
1. LITERATUR NACHRICHTEN, Frankfurt, February 2006 ‘Auch nach Tagore line Mange intelligentes Schariben’, Interview2. ICH GLAUBE NICHT AN GRENZEN,Frankfurt, 2006, Introduction , Interview
French
1. TANT DE VIES : L’incomplet let it autres poems, Editions Characteres, Paris, 2002, Introduction by Martine Chemana.
2. RAGMALA, Anne Cestaing (ed.) Languages & Mondes, Paris, 2005, Article and Extract
Italian
1. INDIA, Rome, 2002, 2 Article, ‘Poesia di Satchidanandan’ by Antonio Menniti Ippolito2. I RITI DELLA TERRA, Castelvecchi, Rome, Feb. 2005, Introduction ‘Tradurre Versi’ by Giulia Gatti