M.Bhoopathy

CAREER IN CREATIVE WRITING

This writer has to his credit 18 Books published besides a number of publications in various magazines and journals both in English and Tamil. His stories and poems have appeared in such leading magazines and periodicals as `The Illustrated weekly of India', `The Indian Express', `Indian Literature', a Bi-monthly by Sahitya Akademi, India. `The London-Delhi Quarterly', `Youth Times', `Poetry Chronicle', `Journal of the Institute of Asian Studies Madras" etc., in English and `Ananda Vikatan', `Dinamani Kadir', `Dinamani Sudar', `Tamarai', `Kalaimagal', `Manjari', `Swadesa Mitran', `Subamangala', ‘Kanaiyazhi’, ‘Virutcham’ etc. in Tamil.

TRANSLATIONS

His translations include poetry of Shelley, Robert Frost, Whitman, Longfellow, Donne, Rabindranath Tagore, Kamala Das, Shiv K.Kumar and fiction of Chekhov. He has translated for the Sahitya Akademi, India, a monograph on the life of the great 14th century Mythili poet, Vidyapati, and a monograph on the life of the poet-saint of Karnataka, Sarvajna. His translation of the love poetry of Kamala Das, an Indo-Anglian poet of renown, has been well received. `Journal of the Institute of Asian studies' Sep., 1989 - A publication of the Institute of Asian Studies, Madras, carried his translation of `Kadaitirappu', a book of love poetry, Section II of `Kalingattuparani', a war classic in Tamil. Commissioned by Sahitya Akademi, India, he has translated `Trapfalls in the sky', a Sahitya Akademi award winner, by Shiv K.Kumar and has also oflate translated from Tamil into English the Sahitya Akademi Award winning book of poetry “ALAPANA” by the poet Abdul Rahman.

PRESENTATION OF POETRY

This translator had the unique honour of translating and presenting Longfellow's famous poem `Paul Revere's Ride' to an invited audience of intellectuals on the occasion of celebration of the American Bicentennial in 1976, got up by the Indo-American Association, Madras.

Presented Poetry in English at the Literary forum - An evening of poetry - organised by Sahitya Akademi, (A National Academy of Letters) Regional Centre, Madras, on 15th February 1990. Presented poetry in English at the 39th All India English Teachers' Conference (Golden Jubilee, 28 - 31 December 1990) held at the University of Madras, Chennai.

Man  with the Longest Faith on Earth

                                 He moves slithering

                                 on the train scuttling

                                 along a subtopia  sprouting.

                                 His staff seeking

                                 comes into contact swooping

                                 with a conscience spinning.

                                 He grabbles searching

                                 through a fraternity scowling.

                                 His progress scanning

                                 is a lone stabbing

                                 at a spectrum shuffling.

                                 His four- feet faith

                                 is perhaps

                                 the longest surviving.