Nissim Ezekiel

 

Nissim Ezekiel

Nissim Ezekiel (16 December 1924 – 9 January 2004) was an Indian poet, actor, playwright, editor, and art critic. He was a foundational figure in postcolonial India's literary history, specifically for Indian poetry in English.

He was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1983 for his collection, "Latter-Day Psalms", by the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters. Ezekiel has been applauded for his subtle, restrained and well crafted diction, dealing with common and mundane (everyday) themes in a manner that manifests both cognitive profundity, as well as an unsentimental, realistic sensibility, that has been influential on the course of succeeding Indian English poetry. Ezekiel enriched and established Indian English language poetry through his modernist innovations and techniques, which enlarged Indian English literature, moving it beyond purely spiritual and orientalist themes, to include a wider range of concerns and interests, including familial events, individual angst and skeptical societal introspection.

Early life

Ezekiel was born on 16 December 1924 in Bombay (Mumbai) in Maharashtra. His father was a professor of botany at Wilson College, and his mother was the principal of her own school. The Ezekiels belonged to Mumbai's Marathi-speaking Jewish community known as the Bene Israel.

In 1947, Ezekiel earned a BA in Literature from Wilson College, Mumbai, Bombay University. In 1947–48, he taught English literature and published literary articles. After dabbling in politics for a while, he sailed to England in November 1948. He studied philosophy at Birkbeck College, London. After three and a half years, Ezekiel worked his way home as a deck-scrubber aboard a ship carrying arms to Indochina.

Career

Ezekiel's first book, A Time to change, appeared in 1952. A Time To Change, changed the trajectory of Indian poetry as it was a new form of poetry, Indian English Poetry. The book serves as a declaration of transformation, encompassing the poet's personal life and surroundings. It brings about a significant shift with deep implications for society, intellectual thought, and moral values. Most importantly, it introduces a transformation in the way poetry is written. Written in 1952, it emphasizes the cultural context of the post colonial period. Ezekiel uses his poetry as a way to make remarks on the period emphasizing his approach to modernity and encompassing his personal life. A Time to Change may be a small volume with just around thirty-five pages, but it holds great significance in terms of its quality and historical importance.

  Ezekiel is known in his early work that the titles of the poems describe the content of the poem and are closely related to the meaning.

Ezekiel has distinctive views of his language when it comes to his poetry. In Ezekiel's earlier works much of the collection was defined by large language with a focus on rhyme, meter, and poetic form. In Ezekiel's poetry the quality of the heart is evident through his undertones, irony, and self mockery. Within his poetry the lines are a similar length and if the poem has stanza, the stanza will have a similar number of lines. This demonstrates Ezekiel's attention to detail with his writing by using symmetry, further emphasizing Ezekiel's early dependence for structure in poetry.

 Ezekiel emphasizes the importance of creating literature that connects on a global scale. He references Berdyaev's ideological approaches with creativity and how the poet should not imitate other cultures but should be genuine in their writing. The poet should prioritize their integrity and own experiences in poetry. Ezekiel believes the cultural roles are secondary which leads him to believe that poetry has a universal likening. For instance, Ezekiel emphasizes the significance of humanity in the universe in his poem "Morning Prayer".

He published another volume of poems, The deadly man in 1960. After working as an advertising copywriter and general manager of a picture frame company (1954–59), he co-founded the literary monthly Jumpo, in 1961. He became art critic of The Times of India (1964–66) and edited Poetry India (1966–67). From 1961 to 1972, he headed the English department of Mithibai College, Bombay. The Exact Name, his fifth book of poetry, was published in 1965. During this period he held short-term tenure as visiting professor at University of Leeds (1964) and University of Pondicherry (1967). In 1969, at the Writers Workshop, Ezekiel published his Three Plays which includes Nalini, Marriage Poem, The Sleep-walkers.  A year later, he presented an art series of ten programmes for Indian television. In 1976, he translated Jawaharlal Nehru's poetry from English to Marathi, in collaboration with Vrinda Nabar, and co-edited a fiction and poetry anthology. His poem The Night of the Scorpion is used as study material in Indian and Colombian schools. Ezekiel also penned poems in 'Indian English' like the one based on instruction boards in his favourite Irani café. His poem 'Background, Casually' is considered to be the most defining poem of his poetic and personal career.

Nissim Ezekiel is often considered the father of Modern Indian English poetry by many critics. He was honoured with the Padmashri award by the President of India in 1988 and the Sahitya Akademi cultural award in 1983.

Editor

He edited The Indian P.E.N., official organ of P.E.N. All-India Centre, Bombay from The Theosophy Hall, New Marine Lines, and encouraged poets and writers.

He was the founding editor of Quest in 1954.

Death

After a prolonged battle with Alzheimer's disease, Nissim Ezekiel died in Mumbai, on 9 January 2004 (aged 79).

Books by Ezekiel

·        1952: Time To Change

·        1953: Sixty poems

·        1956: The Discovery of India

·        1959: The Third

·        1960: The Unfinished Man

·        1965: The Exact Name

·        1974: Snakeskin and Other Poems, translations of the Marathi poet Indira Sant

·        1976: Hymns in Darkness

·        1982: Latter-Day Psalms

·        1989: Collected Poems 1952-88 OUP

Plays

·        1969: The Three Plays Kolkata: Writers Workshop, India

·        Do Not Call it Suicide Madras: Macmillan India, 1993.

Prose

·        Ezekiel, Nissim (1992). Selected prose. Oxford University Press. 

·        Naipaul's India and mine- an essay

Editor

·        1965: An Emerson Readers

·        1969: A Joseph King Reader

·        1990: Another India, anthology of fiction and poetry

Poems

·        The Couple

·        Enterprise

·        A Time to Change

·        Philosophy

·        Island

·        For Elkana

·        The Professor

·        Soap

·        Marriage

·        In the country cott

·        How the english lessons ended

·        The Paradise Flycatcher

·        Night of The Scorpion

·        Goodbye party for Miss Pushpa T.S.

·        Entertainment (was the best of one)

·        "Background, Casually"

·        Poet, Lover and Birdwatcher

 

 

 

Nissim Ezekiel
Born	16 December 1924 Bombay, Bombay Presidency, British India (now Mumbai, Maharashtra, India)
Died	9 January 2004 (aged 79) Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Occupation	Poet, playwright, art critic, editor
Citizenship	•  British India (1924-1947) •  India (1947-2004)
Period	1952–2004
Genre	Modern Indian English Poetry
Notable work	Night of the Scorpion; Latter Day Psalms
Notable awards	Sahitya Akademi Award (1983) Padma Shri (1988)