Jocelyn Ortt-Saeed (18 January 1935 – 26 September 2014) was an Australian-Pakistani poet, philosopher and social worker. She is listed in the poetry's '' World Who's Who'' and was the subject of the documentary film ''Punjabi Love Story''.

Personal life

Jocelyn Ortt-Saeed was born on 18 January 1935 in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, Australia, and received her education in Australia and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. She married her Pakistani husband Muhammad Saeed, a sugar mill technologist based in

Jaranwala Jaranwala (; ) is a city and capital of Jaranwala Tehsil located in the Faisalabad District of Punjab (Pakistan), Punjab, Pakistan.

, in 1959 in

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

while she was traveling to Germany for studies. They had six children. Although Ortt-Saeed was raised a Christian, she was married to a Muslim and their children were exposed to both cultures as part of their upbringing. They spoke both English and

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

at home.

Literary career

Ortt-Saeed published seven

poetry collection A poetry collection is often a compilation of several poems by one poet to be published in a single volume or chapbook. A collection can include any number of poems, ranging from a few (e.g. the four long poems in T. S. Eliot's ''Four Quartets' ...

s. Her last major work was ''Distant Horizons''. She was also a regular writer for the English-language newspaper ''

Dawn Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the diffuse sky radiation, appearance of indirect sunlight being Rayleigh scattering, scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc ha ...

'', where she would contribute poems and verses. She had an interest in

Sufi poetry Sufi literature consists of works in various languages that express and advocate the ideas of Sufism. Sufism had an important influence on medieval literature, especially poetry, that was written in Arabic, New Persian, Persian, Punjabi language ...

, particularly the works of

Bulleh Shah Sayyid Abdullāh Shāh Qādrī (; ), popularly known as Baba Bulleh Shah and vocatively as Bulleya, was a Punjabi revolutionary philosopher, reformer and Chishti Sufi poet, regarded the 'Father of Punjabi Enlightenment'; and one of the g ...

, and frequently attended poetry events throughout Pakistan. Ortt-Saeed's work has been praised by various writers including

Madeeha Gauhar Madeeha Gauhar (; 21 September 1956 – 25 April 2018) was a Pakistani TV and stage actress, playwright and director of social theater, and women's rights activist. In 1984, she founded Ajoka Theatre where social themes were staged in thea ...

and

Shahid Nadeem Shahid Mahmood Nadeem (; born 1947) is a Pakistani journalist, playwright, screenwriter, theater and television director, and a human rights activist. He served as the general manager, program director, and deputy managing director of the Pak ...

. She was a close friend of the English-born poet

Alys Faiz Alys Faiz (Urdu:; September 1915 – 12 March 2003) was a Pakistani poet, writer, journalist, human rights activist, social worker and a teacher. Alys was born in London, but she later became a naturalized citizen of Pakistan. She was the wife o ...

, who was the wife of the renowned Urdu writer

Faiz Ahmed Faiz Chaudhry Faiz Ahmad Faiz (13 February 1911 – 20 November 1984) was a Pakistani poet and author of Punjabi and Urdu literature. Faiz was one of the most celebrated, popular, and influential Urdu writers of his time, and his works and ideas r ...

Social work

She was a veteran member of the

Human Rights Commission of Pakistan The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP; ) is an independent, democratic non-profit organisation. Founded in 1987, it is one of the oldest human rights organisations in the country. HRCP is committed to monitoring, protecting and prom ...

and Faiz Ghar. Along with her daughter Mariyam, she supported the Centre for Inspiration and Creativity in Lahore which promoted women's empowerment activities. As a fluent speaker of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, she remained associated with the

Goethe-Institut The Goethe-Institut (; GI, ''Goethe Institute'') is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit German culture, cultural organization operational worldwide with more than 150 cultural centres, promoting the study of the German language abroad and en ...

in Lahore, where she was a pianist. She was known for her community work and medical aid to women and children in the rural areas of Pakistan.

Death

Ortt-Saeed was diagnosed with

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

and died on 26 September 2014, at the age of 79. Her funeral was held at the

Lahore Cathedral The Cathedral Church of the Resurrection, also known as Lahore Cathedral, is a United Protestant cathedral located in Lahore, Pakistan. It was built on The Mall road in 1887, opposite the Lahore High Court. The cathedral is the seat of the Dio ...

, and attended by

Muneeza Hashmi Moneeza Hashmi (; born 1946) is a broadcaster, television producer, actress and a former general manager and director programmes of the Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV). Hashmi has over four decades of experience working with public medi ...

and

Fakir Aijazuddin Fakir Syed Aijazuddin is a Pakistani historian, academic and business executive. From November 2007 to April 2008, he served as Punjab's interim Minister for Culture, Tourism and Environment. Early life Aijazuddin was born in 1942. He receive ...

among others, followed by a ''

dua In Islam, ( , plural: ' ) is a prayer of invocation, supplication or request, asking help or assistance from God. Duʿāʾ is an integral aspect of Islamic worship and spirituality, serving as a direct line of communication betwe ...

'' held the following day. She was laid to rest at the Jail Road cemetery in Lahore.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ortt-Saeed, Jocelyn 1935 births 2014 deaths Australian emigrants to Pakistan Australian poets Australian social workers Dawn (newspaper) people English-language poets from Pakistan Pakistani Christians Pakistani philosophers Pakistani social workers Poets from Lahore Writers from Brisbane