use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , death_cause = , body_discovered = , resting_place = , resting_place_coordinates = , burial_place = , burial_coordinates = , monuments = , nationality =

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

, other_names = Raghav G. Nair , citizenship = , education = , alma_mater = , occupation = Retired Senior Banker , years_active = , era = , employer = , organization = Indian Writers Association , agent = , known_for = , notable_works = , style = , height = , television = , title = , term = , predecessor = , party = , movement = , opponents = , boards = , criminal_charge = , criminal_penalty = , criminal_status = , spouse = , partner = , children = , parents = , mother = , father = , relatives = , family = , callsign = , awards = , website = , module = , module2 = , module3 = , module4 = , module5 = , module6 = , signature = , signature_size = , signature_alt = , footnotes = Gopikrishnan Kottoor is the pen name of Raghav G. Nair (born 1956,

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

, Kerala), an

Indian English Indian English (IE) is a group of English dialects spoken in the republic of India and among the Indian diaspora. English is used by the Indian government for communication, along with Hindi, as enshrined in the Constitution of India. E ...

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 ''Poetry Chain'' is an English poetry journal of India published quarterly from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. The Indian English poet Gopi Kottoor is its founder editor. The journal was founded in 1997 with the mentoring of the Indian poet Ayy ...

''. Kottoor lives in

Trivandrum Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

Early life and education

Kottoor studied at the Loyola English School and Arya Central School,

. He obtained his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in English from the Institute of English, Trivandrum. Kottoor won his first poetry prize in University college poetry competitions, and soon published his poetry in Indian magazines publishing poetry in English. He attended the Master of Fine Arts (Poetry) program of the

Texas State University Texas State University is a public research university in San Marcos, Texas. Since its establishment in 1899, the university has grown to the second largest university in the Greater Austin metropolitan area and the fifth largest university ...

, Southwest Texas, US. In 2005, he was Poet-in-Residence at the

University of Augsburg The University of Augsburg (german: Universität Augsburg) is a university located in the Universitätsviertel section of Augsburg, Germany. It was founded in 1970 and is organized in 8 Faculties. The University of Augsburg is a relatively you ...

, Germany, on a sponsorship by the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) in association with

Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resha ...

Centre,

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. On 4 August 2019, he was requested to join the Indian Writers Association as a member of its advisory board.

Career

As poet

Gopi Kottoor won both the All-India Special Poetry Prize of the

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lan ...

-Poetry Society, India All India Poetry Competitions (AIPC) in 1997 for his poem "These are the things we could talk about" and Second Prize for his poem "

Digging Digging, also referred to as excavation, is the process of using some implement such as claws, hands, manual tools or heavy equipment, to remove material from a solid surface, usually soil, sand or rock on the surface of Earth. Digging is actu ...

" in the General Category of the Competition in 1997. Between 1995 and 1998, he won two more poetry prizes presented by the British Council – Poetry Society (India) sponsored All India Poetry Competitions (AIPC). His other major poetry prizes include The All India Poetry Competition(2017) and Wingword International Poetry Award(2021). Kottoor's " Father, Wake Us In Passing" (2000), which won for the poet a Residency in the

, Germany, is a touching poem sequence on his father in coma, and dying. It has received rave reviews. Kottoor's poetry has appeared in international journals that include ''Orbis (UK) '', ''Ariel'' (

University of Calgary The University of Calgary (U of C or UCalgary) is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The University of Calgary started in 1944 as the Calgary branch of the University of Alberta, founded in 1908, prior to being ins ...

), ''Toronto Review (Canada)'', ''Plaza (Japan)'', Arabesques Review (Africa), ''Persona (

Journal)'', '' Bluefifth Online (UK)'', ''Chiaroscuro Magazine (UK)'', ''Levure littéraire (UK)'', ''Big bridge (UK) '', ''Nth Position (UK)'', '' New English Review (UK) '' and others. His poems are also featured in the anthology, ''

The Dance of the Peacock ''The Dance of the Peacock: An Anthology of English Poetry from India'' is a 2013 anthology of poems written by one hundred and fifty-one poets; edited by Dr Vivekanand Jha. The one hundred and fifty-one poets include Indians and diasporic Indian ...

''. A selection of Gopi Kottoor's poetry, 'Vrindavan' and Changampuzha's elegy 'Ramanan' in translation can be read onlin
here

As playwright

Kottoor's play ''The Nectar of the Gods'' (2015) is a socio-historical take on the life of the palace soldier Devasahayam (Lazarus), who was executed following his conversion to Christianity during the reign of King Marthanda Varma (Kerala, 18c). His other plays include ''The Mask of Death'', a radio-play on the dying days of the Romantic poet

John Keats John Keats (31 October 1795 – 23 February 1821) was an English poet of the second generation of Romantic poets, with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley. His poems had been in publication for less than four years when he died of tuberculo ...

in Rome, ''Fire in the Soul'', a play on the life and times of the Nationalist rebel poet of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Subramania Bharati C. Subramania Bharathi Birth name: C. Subramaniyan, the person's given name: Subramaniyan, father's given name: Chinnaswami. (C. Subramaniyan by the prevalent patronymic initials as prefix naming system in Tamil Nadu and it is Subramaniyan C ...

, and ''A Woman in Flames.''

As novelist

Kottoor's first novel, ''A Bridge Over Karma'', was translated into Malayalam and serialized in the popular Malayalam journal ''Kala Kaumudi''.

As editor

Kottoor founded and edited ''

'', a quarterly for

Indian poetry in English Indian English poetry is the oldest form of Indian English literature. Indian poets writing in English have succeeded to nativize or indianize English in order to reveal typical Indian situations. Henry Louis Vivian Derozio is considered the firs ...

, which ran from 1997–2007. He also edits the E-zine Underground Flowers.

Awards

* ''All India Poetry Competition (First Prize), The Poetry Society India, 2017.'' * ''All India Special Poetry Prize, Poetry Society, India and The British Council, 1997.'' * ''All India Poetry Prize (Second Prize), Poetry Society, India and The British Council, 1997.'' * ''All India Poetry Awards, Commendation prizes, 1995 & 1998.'' * ''The Bharathi Prize, Chennai (1995)'' * ''The Kerala University College Prize (1976)'' * ''The Clover Poetry Prize, Commendation (1973)''

Honours

* ''Philip McCormick Scholarship, Texas State University, Texas, US 2000'' * ''Distinguished Guest from India
Government of India Annual Report 2005-2006,(p) 152
' * ''Michael Madhusudan Dutt Award'' * ''D.Litt, World Academy of Arts, California, US'' * ''21 Top Indian Poets''

Bibliography

Poetry * ''Piccolo'' * ''Milestones to the Sun'' * ''Sunbirds in the Rain'' * ''Nirvana and Other poems'' * ''Rev: Father Benedict Goes To Heaven and Other poems'' * ''Father, Wake Us In Passing,(Vater, Wecke Uns Im Vorübergehen – German, Laufschrift 2004)'' * ''Mother Sonata'' * ''A Buchenwald Diary (Poems following a visit to Buchenwald Concentration camp, Weimar, Germany)'' * ''Victoria Terminus, Poems Selected and New'' * ''Vrindavan – The Coloured Yolk of Love'' * ''Tell Me Neruda'' Novels * ''A Bridge Over Karma'' (Katha Distribution, New Delhi) ''Karmathinu Mele Oru Palam'' (Translation, Malayalam, Moosakutty). * ''Presumed Guilty'' * ''Hill House (A View From West Hill)'' Plays * ''The Nectar of Gods'' – King Marthanda Varma and Devasahayam * ''Fire in the Soul – The Life And Times of Subramania Bharati'' * ''The Mask of Death – The Final Days of John Keats'' * ''A Women in Flames'' Transcreations * ''Jnanappana (Poonthanam) as Fountain of God'' * ''Rati Rahasya (Kukoka) as Love's Ecstasies'' Philosophy * ''The Twelve Petals of Enlightenment (Param Hans)'' Children's * ''Wander From The Great Wide Wander Galaxy (Fantasy)'' Editor * ''Poetry Anthology (Editor) "A New Book of Indian Poems in English"''(Poetry Chain and

Writers Workshop Writers Workshop is a Kolkata-based literary publisher founded by the Indian poet and scholar Purushottama Lal in 1958. It has published many new Indian authors of post-independence urban literature. Many of these authors later became widely kn ...

Calcutta) * ''Poetry Chain – A Poetry Quarterly since 1997'' Kottoor's reviews on Indian English Poetry * ''A Rebel and an Observer '':Review
/small> * ''Signature of Sensuality '':Review
/small> * ''On A Poetic Cruise '':Review
/small> * ''Bhakti Blazes The Vernacular '':Review
/small> * ''For verse or for worse '':Review
/small> * ''Goodness of Nature And God ''
/small> * ''Magic And Mystery of Love '':Review
/small> * ''Idioms And Images '':Review
/small> * ''Not Much Happening '':Review
/small> * ''Dear Dad '':Review
/small> * ''Solitary romantic '':Review
/small> * ''A ThanksGiving For Life '':Review
/small> * ''Representative Voices ''
/small> * ''Tales of Change '':Review
/small> * ''A Fine Flow of Emotion '':Review
/small> * ''Self-Indulgent Words '':Review
/small> * ''Rewarding Read '':Review
/small> * ''Transience of Human Love '':Review
/small> * ''Frank Images ''
/small> Appearances in the following poetry Anthologies * '' Verse, Seattle(USA) : Special edition on Contemporary Indian Poetry in English '' * ''The Bloodaxe Book of Contemporary Indian Poets'' (2008) ed. by

Jeet Thayil Jeet Thayil (born 1959) is an Indian poet, novelist, librettist and musician. He is the author of several poetry collections, including ''These Errors Are Correct'' (2008), which won the Sahitya Akademi Award. His first novel, '' Narcopolis,'' ( ...

and published by Bloodaxe Books Ltd.,

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

* ''Give the Sea Change USA (Fulcrum, Ed.

) '' * ''The Golden Jubilee Anthology of Indian Poets in English NBT, India (Ed. Eunice de Souza ) '' * ''99 Poets (Ed. Manu Dash) '' * ''The Dance of the Peacock: An Anthology of English Poetry from India'' (2013) ed. by Vivekanand Jha and published by Hidden Brook Press,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

* ''Travelogue : The Grand Indian Express'' (2018) ed. by Dr. Ananad Kumar and published by Authorspress,

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

Literature Arts and Culture *''Tribute From France'':Review
/small> *''Keats Home Hampstead England'':Review
/small>

References

Sources

* ''Father, Wake us in Passing: A Book of poems'' (A Poetry Chain Imprint)
/small> * ''Father Wake Us in Passing: ''
/small> * ''Father Wake Us in Passing(Guest Poet Readings at University of Augsburg Germany): ''
/small> * ''The Coloured Yolk of Love: ''Poetry Online
/small> * ''Varnamala – A Web Anthology of Indian English Poetry ''
* ''Bluefifth Review Winter 2003 ''
* ''NthPosition Online Magazine ''PoetryOnline
* ''The Poetry of Emotion, Colour and Passion ''
* ''Transcreating Poonthanam ''
/small> * ''Meditations on Life ''Review
/small> * ''E-books India ''
/small> * ''The Enchanting Verses ''
/small> * ''Bigbridge Anthology PartII ''
/small> * ''Life and Legends ''
/small> {{DEFAULTSORT:Kottoor, Gopi 1956 births Living people Indian male poets Writers from Thiruvananthapuram English-language poets from India Indian male novelists Indian children's writers