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Poetry Awards
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Dr. Srinivas and Dr. Padmanaban (holding certificate, center and right) entrust the World People’s Poet award to Institute of Oriental Philosophy Director Yoichi Kawada (3rd from left)
[Photo from BSG] |
The World Poetry Society Intercontinental has awarded SGI
President Daisaku Ikeda the title of World People's Poet in
recognition of the inspiration his poetry has brought to
people all over the world. Society President Dr. Krishna
Srinivas and Vice President A. Padmanaban presented the
accolade at the Poetry for World Peace, Harmony and Humanism
Symposium held on October 5 in Chennai, India. This was the
first occasion the award had been made.
The World Poetry Society Intercontinental is headquartered
in Chennai and has members in 50 countries. In 1995, the
society conferred its World Poet Laureate Award upon Mr.
Ikeda. The SGI president was also declared a poet laureate
by the World Academy of Arts and Culture in 1981.
In his remarks at the symposium, Dr. Srinivas quoted Mr.
Ikeda's poetry and recalled their meeting in 1979. He stated
he has never forgotten Mr. Ikeda's words on that occasion:
"In a society mired in strife, poetry opens the window of
the soul. Through that window, the refreshing breeze of life
can blow. Poetry is the proof of society's humanity, the
noble song of the human spirit."
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Students perform a song at the award ceremony
[Photo from BSG] |
On September 1, 820 poets and scholars from across the globe
had converged in Chennai for the 27th World Congress of
Poets. Former Indian President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam opened
the congress, which was sponsored by the World Academy of
Arts and Culture.
During the congress, Akash Ouchi of BSG (Bharat Soka Gakkai)
presented the SGI Peace and Culture Award to Dr. Kalam in
recognition of his lifetime achievements. In his address,
Dr. Kalam lauded Dr. Krishna Srinivas, 95, for his dedicated
efforts in publishing the monthly journal Poet for
the past 48 years. The journal has readers in 50 countries.
The first World Congress of Poets was formed in 1969 by
Amado Yuzon, Tin-wen Chung, Krishna Srinivas and Lou LuTour
with the aim of uniting people across national borders and
achieving world peace and mutual understanding through
poetry. The official languages of the congress are Arabic,
Chinese, English, French, German, Greek, Hebrew and Spanish.
In a message to the 27th Congress, Mr. Ikeda referred to
maitri, a Sanskrit word expressing compassion and
friendship, which he said is ultimately "the act of rising
above attachment to difference, bringing clearly into sight
the worth and dignity . . . that exist equally within all
people." He expressed his belief that this attitude and
insight is inherent in the heart of the poet, whose "lofty
mission," he affirmed, is "exalting the nobility of the
human spirit, and rebuking the forces that would undermine
and destroy that nobility."
The International Society of Greek Writers and Arts has also
recognized Mr. Ikeda for his literary achievements and
contributions to peace. Society President Chrissoula
Varveri-Varra announced the Greek-Chinese Culture Award
during the First Qinghai Lake International Poetry Festival
held in Qinghai Province, China, from August 7-10, and
attended by 160 poets and literary figures from 30
countries. The festival was organized by the Greek writers
society together with the Cultural Agency of Qinghai
Province and the Poetry Institute of China.
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The SGI Quarterly was sad to hear of the passing
of Dr. Krishna Srinivas on December 14, 2007. |
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