Satchidanandan

K.Satchidanandan(b.28 May 1946) is a major Indian poet writing in Malayalam, a critic writing in Malayalam as well as English, academic, 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 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, Guiseppe Ungaretti, Mahmoud Darwish and Yehuda Amichai to Malayalam readers thrugh translations and studies besides a lot of Black, Latin American and Indian poetry. He has also travelled widely, reading and lecturing.

K.Satchidanandan, who remains ever aesthetically innovative, 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, amoving 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 to lower middle class parents at Pulloot, a village in Kodungallur in the Thrissur district of Kerala. After his early education in the village schools, he studied biology at Christ College, Irinjalakuda and had his Master’s in English from Maharajas College, Ernakulam. Later he had his Ph.D. in poet-Structuralist poetics from the University of Calicut. He joined as alecturer in English at K.K.T.M. College, Pulloot in 1968, and moved over to Christ College, his alma mater in1970 where he became a Professor of English. He voluntarily retired from this post in 1992 to move to Delhi and take up the editorship of Indian Literature, the prestigious English journal of the Indian National Academy. 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 Department of Higher Education, Government of India and to the National Translation Mission, a Government initiative.He also 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 in Malayalam literature. The same year he launched Jwala (Flame), an avant-garde journal dedicated to experimental writing.Before that he had already published a collection of essays on modern Malyalam poetry ( Kurukshetram, 1970). Several collections followed. Meanwhile in an attempt to promote modern sensibility he was also translating poetry from across the world for the poertry journal, Kerala Kavita and other journals, and writing critical articles on modern literature, arts and culture. By 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 left 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. He launched a small publishing house called Prasakthi Library in 1978 that brought out anthologies of poems and short stories as well as political tracts. A collection of his poems from 1965 to 1982 was published in 1983. He was invited to participate in the Valmiki International Poetry Festival in New Delhi and to repesent 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 now his poems and collections had begun to appear in other languages and his books were becoming text books in colleges.

In 1992, he moved to Delhi. Life in Delhi impacted on his poetry in many ways: his concerns became broader; he wrote a series of poems on Kerala made possible by the distance 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 thoroughly modernised the journal "Indian Literature" he edited for the National Academy. 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 activities now had English for its medium as he was addressing a national readership; but he wrote poetry only in his mothertongue, 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, visited China again in 2000. 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. Next year he visted Syria as also New York and Pakistan as part of Indian writers’delegations; his collectionn in Italian was published from Rome the same year. He was the Indian invitee to the Berlin Literary Festival in 2005; he also read at the Frankfurt Book Fair. He was also an invitee to the Leipzeg 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. A documentary film on him, "Summer Rain" was released in 2007.

Awards and Honours1. 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, 19905. 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, 199910. Senior Fellowship from Department of Culture, Govt. of India, 199911. Ganakrishti Puraskar for Poetry, Kolkata, 2000 12. Kumaran Asan Award for poetry, Chennai, 200013. Odakkuzhal Award for poetry, Kerala, 200114. Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Travelogue, Kerala, 200115. Manaveeyam Cultural Mission (Govt. of Kerala) memento for ‘Service to Humanity through Literature’, 2001.16. Baharain Kerala Samaj Award for Total Literary Contribution, Baharain, U.A.E., 200217. Gangadhar Meher National Award for Poetry, Sambalpur University, Orissa, 200218 Pandalam Kerala Verma Award for Poetry, Kerala, 200519 Bappureddy National Award for Literature, Hyderabad, A.P. 200520 Vayalar Award for Poetry, Kerala, 200521 Friendship Medal, Govt. of Poland, 200522 Sahityasree, Hindi Sammelan, Delhi, 200623 Knighthood of the Order of Merit, Govt. of Italy, 200624 Sree Kerala Varma Sahitya Puraskaram, 200625 K.Kuttikrishnan Memorial Award for Poetry, Kerala , 200726 Subrahmanya Shenoi Memorial Award for Total Literary Contribution, 2008

List of Works.

I. OWN WORKS IN MALAYALAM(A) 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 DEERGHA 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. ENTE SATCHIDANANDAN KAVITAKAL, Ed. BalachandranChullikkad (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)

(B) Plays28 SAKTAN THAMPURAN (One-act Plays, 1983)29 GANDHI (Full-length Play, 1995)

(C) Prose30 KURUKSHETRAM (Studies in Modern Poetry, 1970)27. JANATAYUM KAVITAYUM ((Poetry and the People, 1982, 84)28. MARXIAN SOUNDARYA SASTRAM (Marxian Aesthetics, 1983, 90)29. THIRANJEDUTHA LEKHANANGAL (Selected Essays, 1985)30. PABLO NERUDA (A Lecture on Pablo Neruda, 1985, 1990, Revised, 2007))31. SAMVADANGAL (Dialogues: on society, culture, politics, religioneducation, ecology and literature, 1986)32. SAMEEPANANGAL (Approaches, 1986)33. SAMSKARATHINTE RASHTREEYAM (The Politics ofCulture, 1989)34. SAMBHASHANANGAL (Conversations: a collection ofInterviews given, 1989)35. BRECHTINTE KALA (The Art of Bertolt Brecht, 1989, Revised, 2007)36. PADAVUKAL (Steps: Early articles, 1990)37. KAZHCHAKAL, KAZHACHAPPADUKAL (Sights and Visions: Travelogues, 1991)38. ANVESHANANGAL (Enquiries, 1991)39. VEENDUVICHARANGAL (Rethinkings, 1992)40. SOUNDARYAVUM ADHIKARAVUM (Beauty and Power :on Aesthetics and Politics, 1993)41. MUHURTANGAL (Moments, selected Essays on MalayalamLiterature, 1996)42. PALA LOKAM, PALA KALAM (Many Times, Many Worlds, Travel Writings, 1998)43. KALAYUM NISHEDHAVUM (Art and Dissent, 1999)44. BHARATEEYA KAVITAYILE PRATIRODHA PARAMPARYAM (The Tradition of Dissent of Indian Poetry, 2002)45. MOONNU YATRA (Three Travels, Travelogues, 2004)46. KIZHAKKUM PADINJARUM (East and West, Travelogues, 2005)47. ADITHATTUKAL (Foundations, Essays, 2006)49. MUKHAMUKHAM (Interviews, 2006)

SATCHIDANANDAN’S POETRY IN OTHER LANGUAGES1. 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 AUR ANYA KAVITAYEM (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 )

PROSE IN OTHER LANGUAGES

27. MARXIYA AZHAGIYAR (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 : (Do,Do, 2002)3. INDIAN LITERATURE, PARADIGMS AND PERSPECTIVES(Do,Do, 2008)

SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY

Malayalam1. SATCHIDANANDANTE LOKANGAL : (The Worlds of Satchidanandan) : Essays on the poets’ works.

2. NAVASARGAM : Dr. M. Leelavathy (A Chapter on the Poet)

3. HARITHA NIROOPANAM 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

1. HOW TO GO TO THE TAO TEMPLE, Delhi, 1998, ‘Modernism and Beyond’, Interview by Makarand Paranjape

2. THE GULF TODAY, Dubai, 24 May 2001, ‘Packaging Exotic Life’, Interview

3. THE CREATIVE MIND, Delhi, July-Sept. 2004, ‘Master Magician in Literature’, Interview and article by Sujata Chowdhuri

German : LITERATUR NACHRICHTEN, Frankfurt, February 2006 ‘Auch nach Tagore line Mange intelligentes Schariben’, Interview

ICH GLAUBE NICHT AN GRENZEN,Frankfurt, 2006, Introduction , Interview

French : 1. TANT DE VIES : L’incomplet let it autres poems, Editions Chracteres, 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 Guilia Gatti

Some Links:

www. poetryinternational.com www.littlemag.comwww.indianpoetry.comwww.crimsonfeet.comwww.colorado.eduwww.iicdelhi.nic.inwww.kritya.comwww.museindia.com