https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=A._J._Thomas_poetA. J. Thomas poet - Revision history2026-08-06T20:52:07ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=A._J._Thomas_poet&diff=483757&oldid=prevPnbh11 at 15:54, 16 October 20252025-10-16T15:54:40Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{short description|Indian poet writing in English (born 1952)}}<br />
{{distinguish|A. J. Thomas Jr.|A. J. Thomas (American football)}}<br />
{{BLP sources|date=September 2008}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}<br />
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2020}}<br />
'''A. J. Thomas''' (born 10 June 1952) is an Indian poet, translator and editor writing in [[English language|English]]. He is best known as editor of ''[[Indian Literature (journal)|Indian Literature]]'', the bimonthly English journal of [[Sahitya Akademi]] (India's National Academy of Letters) which he edited till 2010.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.littlemag.com/about/about.html|title = The Little Magazine - About TLM}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.inclusiveplanet.com/en/group/564091 |title=Indian literature &#124; inclusive planet |access-date=2014-01-06 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110603065813/http://www.inclusiveplanet.com/en/group/564091 |archive-date=2011-06-03 }}</ref><br />
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== Biography ==<br />
Thomas was born in Mount Illickan valley of [[Western Ghats]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Bati |first=Diya |title=A. J. Thomas |url=https://hindijivanparichya.blogspot.com/2020/09/a-j-thomas.html |access-date=2022-03-24 |website=Biography of in Hindi}}</ref> His childhood was spent in Mechal, [[Kottayam]]. In 1976 he took up employment with [[Kerala Tourism Development Corporation]].<ref name=":0" /> Subsequently, he came in contact with internationally renowned writers like [[Dominique Lapierre]], [[Angus Wilson|Sir Angus Wilson]], [[Salman Rushdie]], and Indian writers like [[Pritish Nandy]], [[M. T. Vasudevan Nair]] who inspired him.<br />
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== Literary works ==<br />
Thomas has translated poetry, fiction, drama and non-fiction from [[Malayalam language|Malayalam]] to English. His first book of note was ''Bhaskara Pattelar and Other Stories,'' a translation of [[Paul Zacharia]]'s stories. This was a recreation of the original with [[Gita Krishnankutty]] and Zacharia as contributors.<ref name=":0" /><br />
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Thomas's literary works have appeared in poetry anthologies like ''[[The Dance of the Peacock]]: An Anthology of English Poetry from India'',<ref name="brook">{{cite news|last1=Grove|first1=Richard|title=The Dance of the Peacock:An Anthology of English Poetry from India|url=http://hiddenbrookpress.com/Book-Indo-EnglishPoetry.html|access-date=5 January 2015|issue=current|publisher=Hidden Brook Press, Canada|archive-date=29 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180929050126/http://hiddenbrookpress.com/Book-Indo-EnglishPoetry.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> featuring 151 Indian English poets, edited by Vivekanand Jha and published by Hidden Brook Press, [[Canada]].<ref name="press">{{cite web |last1=Press |first1=Hidden Brook |title=Hidden Brook Press |url=http://hiddenbrookpress.com |access-date=5 January 2015 |publisher=Hidden Brook Press}}</ref> and ''Converse: Contemporary English Poetry by Indians'' (2022) edited by Sudeep Sen and published by Pippa Rann Books, [London].<br />
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== Awards and recognition ==<br />
Thomas has received more recognition for literary translation. He won Katha award for his translation of Paul Zacharia's story "Salam America". The verse-fiction ''Ujjaini'', based on the life of Kalidasa by O. N. V. Kurup, the doyen of Malayalam poetry, in Thomas's translation, won critical acclaim. For translating the novel ''Keshavan’s Lamentions,'' by veteran Malayalam novelist M. Mukundan, he won the [[Vodafone Crossword Book Award]] 2007. According to [[Dr Tapan Kumar Pradhan]], the Indian Literature Golden Jubilee Awards of [[Sahitya Akademi]] were the original brain child of A. J. Thomas.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Pradhan|first1=Tapan Kumar|title=Kalahandi - The Untold Story|date=12 July 2020|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DtTLzQEACAAJ|publisher=Kohinoor Books|isbn=9788194579717|access-date=7 January 2021}}</ref> Thomas was the chief editor of [[Indian Literature (journal)|Indian Literature]] till 25 August 2010.<ref>{{cite web|title=A J Thomas - Biography|url=https://thomasaj.in/ |access-date=12 April 2021}}</ref><br />
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== References ==<br />
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[[Category:1952 births]]<br />
[[Category:Living people]]<br />
[[Category:20th-century Indian translators]]<br />
[[Category:Indian male poets]]<br />
[[Category:Poets from Kerala]]<br />
[[Category:English-language Indian poets]]</div>Pnbh11