The Ayyappa Paniker Foundation
and
The International Centre for poetry
Membership form
The Ayyappa Paniker Foundation, launched in Thiruvananthapuram in 2007, takes its name from Prof.(Dr.) Ayyappa Paniker (1930-2006), one of the pioneers of modern poetry in Malayalam. Born in Kavalam, Kerala, on 12 September, 1930, Ayyappa Paniker attained his Masters and Ph.D in English literature from the University of Indiana in the U.S and having taught in several colleges and the University of Indiana, he did his post-doctoral research at Yale and Harward Universities in 1981-82 and retired as the Head of the Institute of English, University of Kerala.
Ayyappa Paniker’s works are too numerous to be listed here. Most of his poems in Malayalam have been collected in three volumes and his essays, in four. He has also written widely on poetics in Malayalam as well as English, the books Antassannivesam in Malayalam and Indian Narratology in English being the most original and comprehensive. He edited Kerala Kavita, a poetry quarterly in Malayalam (subsequently an annual) around which rallied almost all the young, original and innovative poets and critics of Malayalam marking the beginning of a new era in Malayalam poetry and criticism. Dr.Paniker also wrote several monographs, served on the editorial board of several journals, including the Modern American Review, edited many books including a series on the Kerala Writers in English for Macmillian, the four volume Medieval Indian Literature
for the Sahitya Akademi and the complete works of Shakespeare in Malayalam translation. His interests ranged from Malayalam poetry and criticism to Common Wealth literature, American literature, medieval poetry, Kerala theatre, both classical and modern, and Kerala culture. Dr. Paniker was ever open to experimentation in literature and arts and ever ready to lend his generous support to avant-garde movements in all the arts.
There is hardly any major literary award in Kerala that has not gone to Ayyappa Paniker. Besides he was awarded the Birla Fellowship, the IGNCA Fellowship, the Asan Prize from Chennai, Bhilwara Award from Kolkata, Gangadhar Meher Award from Orissa, the Sahitya Akademi Award, Kabir Samman from Madhya Pradesh and the prestigious Saraswati Samman from the Birla Foundation.
The foundation, already registered as a Trust under the initiative of some of Dr. Paniker’s students, fellow-teachers, writers, beneficiaries and admirers of his work in diverse fields, is committed to doing everything possible to safeguard the poet-scholar’s memory and to further the work he had initiated in various areas of creativity and in academic disciplines. The work of the Foundation will chiefly be done through an International Centre for Poetry (provisionally named VAK, the Word) to be established in Thiruvananthapuram that was the centre of most of Dr. Paniker’s activities.
The Centre will have one section exclusively dedicated to Ayyappa Paniker, with an archive of his books, articles, manuscripts, photographs, paintings and letters, providing facilities to researchers to pursue the study of his work in various fields. It will also ensure that his books are in circulation, collect and edit unpublished works and arrange for the translation and publication of his works in other languages.
The Foundation has already launched its Ayyappa Paniker Memorial Lecture Series with a talk by Dilip Chitre, distinguished poet and translator, held in September, 2007 as part of Poet’s birthday celebrations in Thiruvananthapuram. The Foundation that is still in the making offers its membership to all writers, scholars, academics, friends, admirers and acquaintances of Ayyappa Paniker identifying with its aims and objectives.
We appeal to everyone going through this brochure to be part of the Foundation by joining it as a Member (Rs 1000, one-time payment ) or an Executive member (Rs 10,000, one-time payment). A membership form is enclosed for your convenience.
K. SATCHIDANANDAN T.P.SREENIVASAN PRIYADAS.G.MANGALATH
President Vice-President Secretary