Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a senior commander in the elite Quds Force of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and his deputy
STEPHEN GILL: Canadian writer of India/Pak origin and Poet Laureate of Ansted University. PCP Exclusive Report
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 in Canada and abroad. He writes mostly in English. Once in a while, he writes poetry in Urdu, Hindi and Panjabi languages. Some of his Urdu/Hindi poems have been sung with music by prominent singers of Pakistan and India.
Stephen Gill has received awards and recognitions, including three 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); and The Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal.
He has been asked several times by several organizations to judge their poetry competitions, and he often evaluates dissertations of English Literature for the doctoral students of universities in India, and himself a focus of doctoral research by scholars. He is a freelance government approved interpreter for Urdu and Panjabi languages.
He is 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; and the Christian Cultural Association of South Asians. At present, he is an honorary member of the Ansted University Board of Advisory Council, and a director of the Children’s Aid Society of the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas & Glengarry (Canada); and Dean of Creative Writing and Peace Studies at Marquess College of London, England.
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.
BOOKS BY STEPHEN GILL
*Reflections & wounds (poems, Hc. Vesta, 1978 );
*The dove of peace (poems, Pb., MAF Press, NY 1989, 1993);
* Life’s vagaries (short stories, Pb., Vesta, 1974 );
*The loyalist city (a novel, Pb., Vesta, 1979);
* Scientific romances of H.G. Wells (critical study, Pb. Vesta 1977);
* Six symbolist plays of Yeats (critical study, Hc., S. Chand (India, 1970) and Vesta 1978;
*Political convictions of G.B. Shaw (critical study, Pb., Vesta 1980);
*The discovery of Bangladesh (histrory, Hc., Colin Venton, England, 1975);
*Sketches of India (illust. essays about India, Pb., Vinay Pustak, India 1964; Vesta 1988)
*English grammar for beginners (Pb., S. Chand, India 1968; Vesta 1977; Colin Venton, England 1996)
*Simon & the snow king (children story,Illust. Pb., Vesta 1981);
*The blessings of a bird (children story, illust. Pb., Vesta 1983 ;
* Moans & waves (poems,out of print. Pb., Vesta 1989);
* The flowers of thirst (love poems, Pb., Vesta 1991);
*Why (a novel, Pb., Vesta 1977);
*Immigrant (a novel, Pb. Vesta 1989);
*Songs for harmony (poems, Pb., Rose Shell Press, NJ, 1993);
*Divergent Shades (Poems, Xavier`s College, India 1995)
*Shrine (poems) World University Press, 1999)
*Flashes, Trilliums in Haiku Spirit ( 2006) Imprint, New Delhi
* Aman Di Ghuggi (Poems in Panjabi language, Publishers Cooperative, New Delhi, India, 1995)
* Jazeera (poems in Urdu) 2004, 2005, Vesta, Canada
BOOKS EDITED
* Poets of the Capital (Borealis Press Canada 1973)
* Seaway Valley Poets ( Vesta Canada 1975)
* Tales from Canada for Children Everywhere (Vesta 1979)
* Green Snow : Anthology of Canadian Poets of Asian Origin (Vesta 1976, 1993)
* Anti-War Poems : Vol. 1 (Vesta 1984)
* Anti-War Poems : Vol. 11 (Vesta 1986)
* Vesta`s Who`s Who of North American Poets (Vesta 1990)
WORKS IN TRANSLATION
-Zakhmi Perchawen (poems in Panjabi). Translator : Dr. Mohinder Kaur Gill. Hc., Suchinton Prakashan, New Delhi, India, 1980
-Awasi (Panjabi translation of his novel Immigrant). Translator : Balbir Momi. Pb., Pal Pocket Books, Amritsar, India, 1986.
-Parwasi (translation of IMMIGRANT in Panjabi) Translators : Dr. N. Singh and S. Sarna. Pb., 1989. Vikendrit Group of Publications, Delhi, India.
-Reflexions Et Blessures (poems in French). Treanslator : Fr. Roland Hamel, Vesta, 1979.
WHAT SOME PUBLICATIONS SAY
--Stephen Gill "writes concisely, gracefully of commonplace things and contemporary concerns, suggesting thoughts and feelings of depth without forcing them on the reader."(The Ottawa Citizen).
--"What is apparent in all of Stephen Gill` work is his generous use of imagery, the substance of all poetry to allow to comprehend the shadow, form and content inseparable as always but in a contemporary, un abstruse and most relevant fashion that remain timeless and universal" (The Pilot).
--"Stephen Gill expresses his thoughts and hopes for a peaceful and beautiful world," (Books);
-- "Gill builds bridges with his books," (the Daily Expositor, Canada);
--“His magic pen creates a unique metaphor raising his poetry above the common crowd,†(Maryanne Raphael in Bridge-in-Making, India).
-- “Stephen Gill’s poetry is like tasting a strange dish, not quite sure whether one like it but certainly one must taste again to make sure. I tasted several times and found the dish very much to my liking.( Bluebell S. Phillips in The Canadian India Times).
-- “For Stephen Gill, poetry is the language of peace,†(Staff writer Laurel McCosham in Standard-Freeholder, Canada).
SOME COMEMNTS ON THREE BOOKS OF STEPHEN GILL
SHRINE ( A collection of poems)
Shrine is a a book of one hundred and sixty six pages and of sixty seven poems about peace, harmony and other social concerns. Most of the poems of this collection have appeared in more than ninety publications and some have been translated into other languages. Among the several literary critics, here are a few lines from the long evaluation of one them:
-- â€ÂGill’s gift of language, the immediacy of his wit and word-play combined with a command of imagery which not only capture his readers in a freeze-frame, but hustles them through time and space to another dimension, places him in the forefront of contemporary Indian poets writing in English,†(Patricia Prime from Newzeland in Canopy, India, and Mawaheb International, Canada)
IMMIGRANT
Immigrant is a fictionalized story of one hundred and forty-seven pages of an immigrant from India who settles in Canada in the seventies. It is about his hopes and the fears and the struggle. The novel gives an insight into the views immigrants hold about while people and vice versa.
QUOTABLE QUOTES:
*Stephen Gill, a multi-talented and sensitive gentleman, has created an informative and powerful portrait of Canadian immigrants` experiences in the 1970s (The Nugget Book Reviews);
*IMMIGRANT does a fine job portraying a new Canadian`s plight.(Christian Monitor, India);
*Prospective immigrants can profit by reading this novel which one feels like finishing off in just one reading (The Hindu, daily);
*IMMIGRANT novel : an understanding of mankind (The Asian Tribune)
* IMMIGRANT reads like a book that had to be written--one which most immigrants and native Canadians should read at some point or the other (The Asianadian)
JAZEERA (poems in Urdu on peace and harmony)
Jazeera consists of eighty four mostly long and some moderately long poems. Some of these poems have appeared in several publications, including Sholey (Pakistan); Ajrak (Pakistan); Roznama Shehree (Pakistan); Uns (Pakistan); Bharat Times (Canada); Rehnuma (Canada); Pakistan Express (USA); Hind Samachar (India); Tejdeed (Pakistan); Watan (Canada); Alambar (Pakistan); Tejdeed-e-Nau (Pakistan); Charsoo (Pakistan); National News (Pakistan); Judith (Pakistan); Awaze-e-Wakt (Pakistan); Messihi Dunya (India); Pakistani Link (Canada); Jafakash (Pakistan); Mukadas Hath (Pakistan); Newai Nur (Canada); Pakistan Star (Canada); Carvan (Canada); Sunday Times (Canada); Milap (India); and others.
ALBUMS
*.Aman (peace). Urdu/Hindi poems of Stephen Gill from Jazeera.
Language : Urdu/Hindi
Khalid sings some of the Urdu/Hindi poems of Stephen Gill in this album called Aman that means peace. These songs condemn war and bloodshed. In one section of this album, Stephen Gill experiments with the Japanese form of poetry, called haiku. He has created this section on the rhythm of Panjabi folk songs called maya or tappey. Gill’s haiku-like presentation is on a serious subject, such as peace. Every line is an integral part of the whole. Moreover, these presentations are in Urdu/Hindi. The result is a meaningful soul-touching creation that is deeply soothing.
*.Aman Ki Rah (Road to peace). Urdu/Hindi poems of Stephen Gill from Jazeera
Language: Urdu/Hindi
Nazir Shad, a prominent singer from Pakistan composes and sings seven poem in Aman Ki Rah.
The albums was released by Dr. Kuldip Singh Kular, a member of the parliament of Ontario, on November 21, 2005 for Canada International Panjabi Sahit Academy (CIPSA). The theme of these poems is also peace. The first song can be translated as “if we were freeâ€Â.
When Dr. Stephen Gill was on a literary tour to India in 1999, he appeared on the Jalandur (Panjab) radio station for an interview. He was not allowed to present this poem in its Panjabi version. In 2005, when it was ready to be shipped, postal authorities of Pakistan refused to let this CD album out of the country, not even to the author of these poems.
*Some other singers have also performed Stephen Gill’s poems, including Jan Diwana, a prominent musician from Norway. He includes “Milap†and “Amanâ€Â, two poems from Jazeera in his prominent CD album Peace.
*SELECTED INTERVIEWS OF DR. STEPHEN GILL ( DVD album of about two hours)
Language : English
This DVD album includes selected interviews of Stephen Gill on different TV stations in Canada and the United States in the past several years. He discusses the art of writing, his books and mainly the world peace. This album was also released by Dr. Kuldip Singh Kular, a member of the parliament of Ontario, on November 21, 2005, for Canada International Panjabi Sahit Academy (CIPSA).
Additional Information
* For additional information on Stephen Gill, please read
1- STEPHEN GILL & HIS WORKS (an evaluation) by George Hines, M.A. Ph.D.(Eng. Lit),Introduction by Dr. John Robbins, former Ambassador to the Vatican, and President of Brandon University; ISBN: 0-919806-90-2;
2- GLIMPSES: A Selection of Published Articles About Stephen Gill and his Books; (ISBN: 0-919301-38-x).
3. ALSO VISIT THE SITES OF STEPHEN GILL: (copy & paste to any search engine and click)
http://home.ican.net/~sgill
AND
www.authorsDen.com/stephengill
==Contact your local book store to obtain a copy of any book or your library to read. Otherwise write to the author;
==To compose music and sing poems, write to Dr. Stephen Gill for permission.
Stephen Gill has received awards and recognitions, including three 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); and The Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal.
He has been asked several times by several organizations to judge their poetry competitions, and he often evaluates dissertations of English Literature for the doctoral students of universities in India, and himself a focus of doctoral research by scholars. He is a freelance government approved interpreter for Urdu and Panjabi languages.
He is 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; and the Christian Cultural Association of South Asians. At present, he is an honorary member of the Ansted University Board of Advisory Council, and a director of the Children’s Aid Society of the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas & Glengarry (Canada); and Dean of Creative Writing and Peace Studies at Marquess College of London, England.
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.
BOOKS BY STEPHEN GILL
*Reflections & wounds (poems, Hc. Vesta, 1978 );
*The dove of peace (poems, Pb., MAF Press, NY 1989, 1993);
* Life’s vagaries (short stories, Pb., Vesta, 1974 );
*The loyalist city (a novel, Pb., Vesta, 1979);
* Scientific romances of H.G. Wells (critical study, Pb. Vesta 1977);
* Six symbolist plays of Yeats (critical study, Hc., S. Chand (India, 1970) and Vesta 1978;
*Political convictions of G.B. Shaw (critical study, Pb., Vesta 1980);
*The discovery of Bangladesh (histrory, Hc., Colin Venton, England, 1975);
*Sketches of India (illust. essays about India, Pb., Vinay Pustak, India 1964; Vesta 1988)
*English grammar for beginners (Pb., S. Chand, India 1968; Vesta 1977; Colin Venton, England 1996)
*Simon & the snow king (children story,Illust. Pb., Vesta 1981);
*The blessings of a bird (children story, illust. Pb., Vesta 1983 ;
* Moans & waves (poems,out of print. Pb., Vesta 1989);
* The flowers of thirst (love poems, Pb., Vesta 1991);
*Why (a novel, Pb., Vesta 1977);
*Immigrant (a novel, Pb. Vesta 1989);
*Songs for harmony (poems, Pb., Rose Shell Press, NJ, 1993);
*Divergent Shades (Poems, Xavier`s College, India 1995)
*Shrine (poems) World University Press, 1999)
*Flashes, Trilliums in Haiku Spirit ( 2006) Imprint, New Delhi
* Aman Di Ghuggi (Poems in Panjabi language, Publishers Cooperative, New Delhi, India, 1995)
* Jazeera (poems in Urdu) 2004, 2005, Vesta, Canada
BOOKS EDITED
* Poets of the Capital (Borealis Press Canada 1973)
* Seaway Valley Poets ( Vesta Canada 1975)
* Tales from Canada for Children Everywhere (Vesta 1979)
* Green Snow : Anthology of Canadian Poets of Asian Origin (Vesta 1976, 1993)
* Anti-War Poems : Vol. 1 (Vesta 1984)
* Anti-War Poems : Vol. 11 (Vesta 1986)
* Vesta`s Who`s Who of North American Poets (Vesta 1990)
WORKS IN TRANSLATION
-Zakhmi Perchawen (poems in Panjabi). Translator : Dr. Mohinder Kaur Gill. Hc., Suchinton Prakashan, New Delhi, India, 1980
-Awasi (Panjabi translation of his novel Immigrant). Translator : Balbir Momi. Pb., Pal Pocket Books, Amritsar, India, 1986.
-Parwasi (translation of IMMIGRANT in Panjabi) Translators : Dr. N. Singh and S. Sarna. Pb., 1989. Vikendrit Group of Publications, Delhi, India.
-Reflexions Et Blessures (poems in French). Treanslator : Fr. Roland Hamel, Vesta, 1979.
WHAT SOME PUBLICATIONS SAY
--Stephen Gill "writes concisely, gracefully of commonplace things and contemporary concerns, suggesting thoughts and feelings of depth without forcing them on the reader."(The Ottawa Citizen).
--"What is apparent in all of Stephen Gill` work is his generous use of imagery, the substance of all poetry to allow to comprehend the shadow, form and content inseparable as always but in a contemporary, un abstruse and most relevant fashion that remain timeless and universal" (The Pilot).
--"Stephen Gill expresses his thoughts and hopes for a peaceful and beautiful world," (Books);
-- "Gill builds bridges with his books," (the Daily Expositor, Canada);
--“His magic pen creates a unique metaphor raising his poetry above the common crowd,†(Maryanne Raphael in Bridge-in-Making, India).
-- “Stephen Gill’s poetry is like tasting a strange dish, not quite sure whether one like it but certainly one must taste again to make sure. I tasted several times and found the dish very much to my liking.( Bluebell S. Phillips in The Canadian India Times).
-- “For Stephen Gill, poetry is the language of peace,†(Staff writer Laurel McCosham in Standard-Freeholder, Canada).
SOME COMEMNTS ON THREE BOOKS OF STEPHEN GILL
SHRINE ( A collection of poems)
Shrine is a a book of one hundred and sixty six pages and of sixty seven poems about peace, harmony and other social concerns. Most of the poems of this collection have appeared in more than ninety publications and some have been translated into other languages. Among the several literary critics, here are a few lines from the long evaluation of one them:
-- â€ÂGill’s gift of language, the immediacy of his wit and word-play combined with a command of imagery which not only capture his readers in a freeze-frame, but hustles them through time and space to another dimension, places him in the forefront of contemporary Indian poets writing in English,†(Patricia Prime from Newzeland in Canopy, India, and Mawaheb International, Canada)
IMMIGRANT
Immigrant is a fictionalized story of one hundred and forty-seven pages of an immigrant from India who settles in Canada in the seventies. It is about his hopes and the fears and the struggle. The novel gives an insight into the views immigrants hold about while people and vice versa.
QUOTABLE QUOTES:
*Stephen Gill, a multi-talented and sensitive gentleman, has created an informative and powerful portrait of Canadian immigrants` experiences in the 1970s (The Nugget Book Reviews);
*IMMIGRANT does a fine job portraying a new Canadian`s plight.(Christian Monitor, India);
*Prospective immigrants can profit by reading this novel which one feels like finishing off in just one reading (The Hindu, daily);
*IMMIGRANT novel : an understanding of mankind (The Asian Tribune)
* IMMIGRANT reads like a book that had to be written--one which most immigrants and native Canadians should read at some point or the other (The Asianadian)
JAZEERA (poems in Urdu on peace and harmony)
Jazeera consists of eighty four mostly long and some moderately long poems. Some of these poems have appeared in several publications, including Sholey (Pakistan); Ajrak (Pakistan); Roznama Shehree (Pakistan); Uns (Pakistan); Bharat Times (Canada); Rehnuma (Canada); Pakistan Express (USA); Hind Samachar (India); Tejdeed (Pakistan); Watan (Canada); Alambar (Pakistan); Tejdeed-e-Nau (Pakistan); Charsoo (Pakistan); National News (Pakistan); Judith (Pakistan); Awaze-e-Wakt (Pakistan); Messihi Dunya (India); Pakistani Link (Canada); Jafakash (Pakistan); Mukadas Hath (Pakistan); Newai Nur (Canada); Pakistan Star (Canada); Carvan (Canada); Sunday Times (Canada); Milap (India); and others.
ALBUMS
*.Aman (peace). Urdu/Hindi poems of Stephen Gill from Jazeera.
Language : Urdu/Hindi
Khalid sings some of the Urdu/Hindi poems of Stephen Gill in this album called Aman that means peace. These songs condemn war and bloodshed. In one section of this album, Stephen Gill experiments with the Japanese form of poetry, called haiku. He has created this section on the rhythm of Panjabi folk songs called maya or tappey. Gill’s haiku-like presentation is on a serious subject, such as peace. Every line is an integral part of the whole. Moreover, these presentations are in Urdu/Hindi. The result is a meaningful soul-touching creation that is deeply soothing.
*.Aman Ki Rah (Road to peace). Urdu/Hindi poems of Stephen Gill from Jazeera
Language: Urdu/Hindi
Nazir Shad, a prominent singer from Pakistan composes and sings seven poem in Aman Ki Rah.
The albums was released by Dr. Kuldip Singh Kular, a member of the parliament of Ontario, on November 21, 2005 for Canada International Panjabi Sahit Academy (CIPSA). The theme of these poems is also peace. The first song can be translated as “if we were freeâ€Â.
When Dr. Stephen Gill was on a literary tour to India in 1999, he appeared on the Jalandur (Panjab) radio station for an interview. He was not allowed to present this poem in its Panjabi version. In 2005, when it was ready to be shipped, postal authorities of Pakistan refused to let this CD album out of the country, not even to the author of these poems.
*Some other singers have also performed Stephen Gill’s poems, including Jan Diwana, a prominent musician from Norway. He includes “Milap†and “Amanâ€Â, two poems from Jazeera in his prominent CD album Peace.
*SELECTED INTERVIEWS OF DR. STEPHEN GILL ( DVD album of about two hours)
Language : English
This DVD album includes selected interviews of Stephen Gill on different TV stations in Canada and the United States in the past several years. He discusses the art of writing, his books and mainly the world peace. This album was also released by Dr. Kuldip Singh Kular, a member of the parliament of Ontario, on November 21, 2005, for Canada International Panjabi Sahit Academy (CIPSA).
Additional Information
* For additional information on Stephen Gill, please read
1- STEPHEN GILL & HIS WORKS (an evaluation) by George Hines, M.A. Ph.D.(Eng. Lit),Introduction by Dr. John Robbins, former Ambassador to the Vatican, and President of Brandon University; ISBN: 0-919806-90-2;
2- GLIMPSES: A Selection of Published Articles About Stephen Gill and his Books; (ISBN: 0-919301-38-x).
3. ALSO VISIT THE SITES OF STEPHEN GILL: (copy & paste to any search engine and click)
http://home.ican.net/~sgill
AND
www.authorsDen.com/stephengill
==Contact your local book store to obtain a copy of any book or your library to read. Otherwise write to the author;
==To compose music and sing poems, write to Dr. Stephen Gill for permission.
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