कुंवर नारायण / Kunwar Narain
Kunwar Narain was born in 1927 in Uttar Pradesh, and was educated in Lucknow, receiving his M.A. in English from Lucknow University. He managed a family business in that city for several decades, and now lives in retirement in south Delhi. Since the early 1950s, Narain has published poetry in Hindi, as well as essays, literary criticism, short stories, essays on film and the various arts. His books of poetry include the collections Chakravyuha (1956), Apane samane (1979), Koi dusara nahin (1993), and In dinon (2002), as well as two book-length poems, Atmajayi (1965) and Vajashrava ke bahane (2008). He has published three volumes of criticism and essays, and one collection of short stories, Akaron ke as pas (1973). He has edited several significant journals in Hindi, among them Yuga-chetana, Naya pratik, and Chhaya-nat. In addition, he has served as the president and vice-president of the Bharatendu Natya-kendra in Lucknow and the Uttar Pradesh Sangit Natak Akademi. Among his many awards are the Sahitya Akademi poetry prize, the Premchand Prize, the Lohia Distinguished Award, and the National Kabir Prize. Narain has travelled extensively in Europe and North America, and has read from his work and participated in conferences in Sweden, Poland, Italy, and England, among other countries.