Shiv K. Kumar (16 August 1921,
Lahore
Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...
,
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...
– 1 March 2017,
Hyderabad
Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
)
was an Indian English-language
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...
,
playwright
A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just
Readin ...
,
novelist
A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...
, and
short story writer. His grandfather late Tulsi Das Kumar was a school teacher and his father Bishan Das Kumar, was a retired headmaster. The letter 'K' stands for Krishna, i.e. Shiv Krishna Kumar.
Early life and education
Shiv K. Kumar was born in
Lahore
Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...
,
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...
, in 1921. He matriculated from
Dayanand Anglo Vedic High School in 1937. He studied for his B.A. at
Government College, Lahore and his M.A. at
Forman Christian College,
Lahore
Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...
(1943).
[He was also tutored by the influential British critic F.R. Leavis during his stay in ]Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
.
Career
In 1943, he joined D.A.V. College Lahore as a lecturer, but moved to Delhi during the
partition. After brief stints as lecturer at
Hansraj College,
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...
, and as programme officer at the
All India Radio
All India Radio (AIR), also known as Akashvani (), is India's state-owned public broadcasting, public radio broadcaster. Founded in 1936, it operates under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broa ...
,
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...
, he left India to join
Fitzwilliam College
Fitzwilliam College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college has origins from 1869, with the foundation of the Non-Collegiate Students Board, a venture intended to offer academically excellent students of all ...
,
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
in 1950. In 1956, he received his PhD in
English Literature
English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...
from the
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
. The topic of his dissertation was 'Bergson and the Stream of Consciousness Novel'. His research supervisor was Professor
David Daiches
David Daiches (2 September 1912 – 15 July 2005) was a Scottish literary historian and literary critic, scholar and writer. He wrote extensively on English literature, Scottish literature and Scottish culture.
Early life
He was born in Sunde ...
. He was also tutored by the influential British critic
F.R. Leavis during his stay in Cambridge.
Shiv K. Kumar taught
English literature
English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...
at
Osmania University
Osmania University is a collegiate university, collegiate Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Mir Osman Ali Khan, the 7th Nizam of Hyderabad, issued a ''firman'' calling f ...
, Hyderabad, and the
University of Hyderabad. During 1972–74, he was a UGC National Lecturer in English. He was the founder Head of the Department of English and the first Dean of the School of Humanities at the University of Hyderabad. He retired as the Vice-Chancellor (I/c) of the University of Hyderabad in 1980. He was the "Distinguished Visiting Professor" at the Universities of Oklahoma and Northern Iowa, and Visiting Professor at the Universities of Drake, Hofstra, Marshall, etc. He was also a visiting fulbright fellow at
Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
.
He was nominated as a member of the Jury for the
Neustadt International Prize for Literature
The Neustadt International Prize for Literature is a biennial award for literature sponsored by the University of Oklahoma and its international literary publication, ''World Literature Today''.
It is considered one of the more prestigious int ...
(USA, 1981).
Several of his poems and short stories have been broadcast over the
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
—and published in Indian, British, American, Canadian and Australian journals and magazines. They have also been translated into several Indian and foreign languages.
In 1978, he was elected as a fellow of the
Royal Society of Literature
The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820 by King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 800 Fellows, elect ...
, London during his stay in England as Commonwealth Visiting Professor of English at the
University of Kent
The University of Kent (formerly the University of Kent at Canterbury, abbreviated as UKC) is a Collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom. The university was granted its roya ...
at
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...
. He received the
Sahitya Akademi Award
The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 22 languages of the ...
in 1987 for his collection of poems ''Trapfalls in the Sky''. In 2001, he was awarded with the
Padma Bhushan
The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 Januar ...
for his contribution to literature.
He lived in
Hyderabad
Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...
and was married to Madhu and they had two children.
Works
His published works include:
As Poet :
* ''Articulate Silences'',
Writers Workshop,
Calcutta
Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...
, 1970
* ''Cobwebs in the Sun'',
Tata McGraw-Hill,
New Delhi
New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...
, 1974
* ''Subterfuges'',
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...
,
New Delhi
New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...
, 1976 (includes the oft anthologised poem ''Indian Women'')
* ''Woodpeckers'',
Sidgwick & Jackson
Sidgwick & Jackson was an imprint of book publishing company Pan Macmillan. Formerly it was an independent publisher; as such, it was founded in Britain in 1908. Its early authors include poet Rupert Brooke and novelist E.M. Forster. In m ...
,
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, 1979
* ''Trapfalls in the Sky'',
Macmillan, Madras, 1986 (
Sahitya Akademi Award for English, 1987; translated into Hindi, Urdu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam.)
* ''Woolgathering'',
Orient Longman,
Hyderabad
Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...
, 1995
* ''Thus Spake the Buddha'', UBSPD,
New Delhi
New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...
, 2001
* ''Losing My Way'', Peacock Books,
New Delhi
New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...
, 2008
* ''Voice of Buddha: A Poetic Transcreation of The Dhammapada'', Atlantic,
New Delhi
New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...
, 2008
* ''Intezar'' (A Collection of Poems in Urdu), Educational Publishing House,
New Delhi
New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...
, 2009
* ''Tum Kaho Main Sunoon'' (A Collection of Poems in Urdu), Educational Publishing House,
New Delhi
New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...
, 2010
* ''Which of My Selves Do You Wish to Speak to? Selected Poems'',
Penguin Books
Penguin Books Limited is a Germany, German-owned English publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers the Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the ...
,
New Delhi
New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...
, 2011
* ''Mujasma-e-Husn'' (A Collection of Poems in Urdu), (MS)
* ''Where Have the Dead Gone?'', (MS)
His individual poems have appeared in ''The New York Times'', ''Poetry Review'' (London), ''Ariel'', ''Southern Review'', ''Hemisphere Meanjin'', ''Western Humanities Review'', ''Trafika'' (Prague), etc.
As Playwright:
* ''The Last Wedding Anniversary'',
Macmillan, 1975. Produced by the Indian National Theatre, and also translated into Urdu as ''Shaadi Ki Akhri Saal Girah'', Shero Hikmat,
Hyderabad
Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...
, 1977.
As Novelist:
* ''The Bone's Prayer'', Arnold Heinemann, 1979. Also translated into Hindi as ''Atmahatya'', Rajpal & Sons,
New Delhi
New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...
, 1980.
* ''Nude Before God'', Vanguard Press,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
, 1983—and Penguin Books,
New Delhi
New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...
, 1987
* ''A River with Three Banks'', UBSPD,
New Delhi
New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...
, 1998—Translated into Hindi as ''Teen Kinaron Vali Nadi'', Saransh,
New Delhi
New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...
, 1999
* ''Infatuation'', UBSPD,
New Delhi
New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...
, 2000.
* ''Two Mirrors at the Ashram'', Penguin,
New Delhi
New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...
, 2007
* ''Rough Passage to the Bodhi Tree'' (The Buddha: From Renunciation to Enlightenment), (MS)
As Short Story Writer:
* ''Beyond Love & Other Stories'', Vikas,
New Delhi
New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...
, 1980
* ''To Nun with Love & Other Stories'', Orient Longman,
Hyderabad
Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...
, 2001
* ''Face Behind the Mirror & Other Stories'', (MS)
As Translator:
* ''Selected Poems of Faiz Ahmed Faiz'' (Urdu to English)
As Critic:
* ''Bergson and the Stream of Consciousness Novel'',
New York University Press
New York University Press (or NYU Press) is a university press that is part of New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
, 1963
* ''Critical Approaches to Fiction'' (edited in collaboration with Keith F. McKean),
McGraw-Hill
McGraw Hill is an American education science company that provides educational content, software, and services for students and educators across various levels—from K-12 to higher education and professional settings. They produce textbooks, ...
, New York, 1969—and several other works of literary criticism.
His research papers have appeared in such scholarly journals as ''Modern Philology'', ''Modern Language Review'', ''Journal of Aesthetics & Art Criticism'', ''Modern Language Quarterly'', ''Modern Language Notes'', ''English Studies'', etc.
Miscellaneous:
* ''The Mahabharata'',
HarperCollins
HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...
, New Delhi, 2011. Also being translated into Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam, Marathi, Bengali, Tamil, etc.
* ''Conversations with Celebrities'', (MS)
Critical Books on Shiv K. Kumar:
* Prabhat K. Singh, ''A Passage to Shiv K. Kumar'' (Swarup & Sons),
New Delhi
New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...
, 2001
* Bijay K. Das, ''Shiv K. Kumar as a Post-Colonial Poet'' (Atlantic),
New Delhi
New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...
, 2001
* R. Shankar, ''Shiv K. Kumar's Poetry: Imagery and Symbolism'' (ABD),
Jaipur
Jaipur (; , ) is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the List of cities and towns in Rajasthan, largest city of the north-western States and union territories of India, Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had ...
, 2010
* ''The Journal of South Asian Literature'' (Michigan) brought out a special issue on his writings in 1990.
Appearances in the following poetry anthologies
* ''The Golden Treasure of
Writers Workshop Poetry'' (2008) ed. by Rubana Huq and published by
Writers Workshop,
Calcutta
Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...
* ''A New Book of Indian Poems In English'' (2000) ed. by
Gopi Kottoor and published by
Poetry Chain and
Writers Workshop,
Calcutta
Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...
* ''Ten Twentieth-Century Indian Poets'' (1976) ed. by
R. Parthasarathy and published by
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...
,
New Delhi
New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...
See also
*
Indian English Literature
Indian English literature (IEL), also referred to as Indian Writing in English (IWE), is the body of work by writers in India who write in the English language but whose native or co-native language could be one of the numerous languages of India ...
*
Indian Writing in English
References
External links
*
Shiv K. Kumar As A Post-Colonial Poet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kumar, Shiv N
20th-century Indian poets
Kumar, Shiv K
1921 births
2017 deaths
Forman Christian College alumni
Alumni of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge
Academic staff of Osmania University
Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature
Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in English
Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in literature & education
Scholars of English literature
Indian male poets