Ariadne’s Notes: We would like to welcome Dr. Stephen Gill, a long time supporter of World Poetry and attendee at various World Poetry events such as the World Poetry Canada & International Peace Festival, 2012.
An Adjunct Professor of EAU, Stephen Gill is an expressive voice of Canada, India and Pakistan. He focuses on global peace and social concerns as a poet and writer. He believes in peaceful means to achieve peace.
Stephen Gill has authored more than twenty books, including novels, literary criticism, and collections of poems. His poetry and prose have appeared in more than five hundred publications, mostly in Canada, the United States of America and India. He writes usually in English. Once in a while, he writes poetry in Urdu, Hindi and Panjabi languages. He has also written and published book reviews, research papers on writers and on world peace. Some of his Urdu/Hindi poems have been sung with music by prominent singers of Pakistan and India.
Stephen Gill has received recognitions, including four honorary doctorates; and Laureate Man of Letters from United Poets Laureate International; Sahir Award of Honor from Sahir Cultural Society, Panjab, India; Plaque from the World Council of Asian Churches (Canada); Pegasus International Poetry for Peace Award (Poetry in the Arts, Inc., Texas,); The Best Poet of Peace Award for the year 1993 from Roger Cable 11 (Canada); Lifetime Achievement Award from South Asian Bible Church (Canada); The Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal; Empowered Peace Poet Award from World Poetry Canada; and several more…
He has been asked several times by several organizations to judge their poetry competitions, and he often evaluates dissertations of English Literature for doctoral students of universities in India. He has been the subject of numerous literary essays, books and doctoral studies. He is also honorary editor/ advisor to several publications, and has edited publications, including the Canadian section of the World Federalist newspaper, Writer’s Lifeline, and South Asian Christian Diary.
He is a former president of Vesta Publications Ltd.; the Canadian Authors Association (the Cornwall, Ont. Branch); a national vice president of the World Federalists of Canada; the Multicultural Council of Stormont and Dundas; chief delegate to represent the World University for Canada; the Christian Cultural Association of South Asians, Dean of Peace Studies at St. Simon’s College, London, England; Co-chair of Downtown Improvement Business Area (DBIA) of Cornwall, Ont. Canada; and a director of the Children’s Aid Society of the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas & Glengarry (Canada).
At present, he is an honorary member of the Ansted University Board of Advisory Council, He has appeared in several prestigious national and international reference books, including Immigrants We Read About by George Bonavia, International Production, Ottawa; Who’s Who In Canadian Literature, Reference Press, Toronto, Canada; Vesta’s Who’s Who of North American Poets, Vesta, Canada; Ethnic & Native Canadian Literature: A Bibliography by John Miska, University of Toronto Press; Something About The Author, vol. 63, Gale Research, USA; Who’s Who In Canada, Toronto University Press; and Who’s Who in Ontario, Heritage Press, B.C., Canada.
Indira Kala Sangit University (IKSU) officially established the Centre for Stephen Gill Studies on April 21, 2012 in an impressive gathering of intellectuals. The gathering was chaired by the Vice Chancellor, Professor Dr. Mandvi Singh. She called it a historical move of the university to establish this centre for scholars to pursue their higher studies on Stephen Gill.
Stephen Gill was born in Sialkot, Pakistan, where he passed his early childhood and grew in India. After teaching in Ethiopia for three years, he migrated to England before settling in Canada.
WebSites:
http://www.writersunion.ca/member/stephen-gill
*BOOKS BY STEPHEN GILL
POETRY
—. Shrine,Rev. Ed. Cyberwit Press
—. Songs Before Shrine: A collection of the following four collections of poems:
1. Reflections & Wounds (poems) Hc. Vesta, 1978
2. The Dove of Peace (poems) Pb., MAF Press, NY 1989, 1993
3 Songs for Harmony (poems) Pb., Rose Shell Press, NJ, 1993
4.Divergent Shades (poems) Xavier’s College, India 1995
—. Flashes (trilliums in haiku spirit)
— The Flame. This is the longest poem ever written in English on modern terrorism. Two books of evaluation have been published.
FICTION
* Life’s Vagaries(short stories)
*The LoyalistCity(a novel)
*Why (a novel
*Immigrant(a novel)
*The Coexistence(a novel partly set in Canada and India to draw a blueprint to live and let live.)
*Simon & the Snow King(children story, Illust.)
*The Blessings of a Bird(children story, illust)
Stephen Gill’s poetry and prose have appeared in more than five hundred publications, mostly in Canada, the United States and India. He has written and published book reviews, research papers on writers from the East and the West, and articles on world peace. He has also written poetry in Urdu, Hindi and Panjabi. Some of his Urdu/Hindi poems have been put to music and performed by prominent singers. Those songs have been released in two CD’s, titled AMAN (peace), and another CD is titled AMAN KI RAH (road to peace). The books of Dr. Stephen Gill are the subject of research by scholars of several universities for doctoral dissertations.
BOOKS WHICH EVALUATE THE WORKS BY STEPHEN GILL :
1. Glimpses.(a collection of articles published in the print media). Ed. Hamadan Darwesh. Publisher: Vesta, Canada
2. Stephen Gill & His Works (evaluation) by Dr. George Hines. Vesta (Canada); authorspress (India)
3. Discovering Stephen Gill(anthology of research papers from various scholars and writers). Editor: Dr. N. Agrawal. A lecturer in English, prominent writer and literary critic of India. Publisher : authorspress, India.
4. The Poetic Corpus of Stephen Gill: An Assessment by Dr.Sudhir Arora. Dr. Sudhir Arora, a lecturer of English Literature in India, is focusing only on The Flame, the longest poem in English on modern terrorism. Dr. Sudhir Arora is a prominent name as a writer and literary critic. Sarup&Sons, India.
5. The Flame Unmasked.Several prominent university teachers of English have contributed scholarly papers to this book edited by another prominent scholar and a lecturer in English Dr. Sudhir Arora. MUST TO READ by scholars. Prakash Book Dept., India.
(6). Stephen Gill’s Poetry: A Panorama of World Peace.
Chief Editor: Prof. K.V. Dominic, Editor of Indian Journal of Postcolonial Literatures. Prof. K.V. Dominic is a prominent poet and literary critic. He teaches English literature at NewmanCollege in Kerala, India.
(7). Essays on the Poetry of Stephen Gill. Chief Editor: Dr. Shaleen Singh, a poet, editor and literary critic. Summer 2010. Dr. Shaleen Singh edits Creative Saplings (www.creativesaplings.com).
(8). An Interpretation of Mind and Art of Stephen Gill. Chief Editor: Dr. Anuradha Sharma.Sanbun Publishers, New Delhi, India, 2011. ISBN: 978-93-80213-50-7; Rs. 200.00, pb. sanbunpublishers@hotmail.com
(9.) A Selection of Stephen Gill’s Interviews. Ed. Dr. A. Sharma. Orientalia, A-4, B-49 Joshi Colony, Patparganj- Delhi 110092; kempvtltd@gmail.com; ISBN; 978-81-908864-8-2,
THESE CHILDREN (For International Children’s Day)
These children
have yet to learn
to deal with muddy pellets of abuse
or the ice of neglect
while maturing into the oaks
of exceptional might.
Creator,
protect these seedlings
in the sheltered bay
of your tender care
with apprehensive solicitude
To revive the Lazarus
buried in the grave of innocence
they have yet to use the coin
of deep human concerns.
They are
the embryos of posterity.
Gardner,
guard the growth of these roots.
Nurture them
with rare delicacies of duties.
On their shoulders
sound structures are shaped
for generations to be wombed.
They are
the rainbow of the millennium.
Architect,
watch these foundations.
The feverish excitements of today
need them for their rest
in the castle of the comfort
of tomorrow.
The voyage
of the meaningful explorations
for the inner self
they have yet to embark.
They are the top deck
where our expectations
for the warmth of the spring
bask in the adulation of love.
Captain,
sail the steamer of these children
to a safer island.
Riding even the ruthless currents
of domestic violence
et these angels advance
to the port of the vision of peace.
They are
in your image.
God,
keep these innocent souls
under the softness of your feathers.
©stephengill
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