Abdul Mateen Jami
Abdul Mateen Jami, also written as Abdul Matin Jami, is an Indian Urdu poet, fiction writer, critic, and translator from Odisha. He has published multiple collections of poetry, fiction, and literary criticism, and has translated works from Odia, Bengali, and Malayalam into Urdu.
Early life
Abdul Mateen Jami was born on 27 July 1950 in Rasulpur, Sungra, Cuttack district, Odisha, India. His father's name was Sheikh Sanaullah, and his mother's name was Umm-e-Salām. He began his literary journey in 1974.Literary career
Jami began writing poetry in 1976. His natural inclination has been towards modern poetry, and his mentor in poetry was his maternal uncle, Karamat Ali Karamat. He has explored a wide range of poetic forms, including ghazal, nazm, prose poetry, triolet, sonnet, gajra, doha, and ruba'iyat.By the 1980s, Jami had composed around one hundred ghazals, many of which were published in prominent Urdu literary magazines and newspapers. His poetry appeared in publications such as Akhbar-e-Mashriq, Sada-e-Orissa, Adab-e-Nikhar, Nai Naslen, Gul Kada, Saaz-e-Sarmadi, and Chingari. He was also actively involved in local literary activities in Cuttack.
He has published several poetry collections:Nishat-e-Aagahi, his poetry collectionBisāt-e-Sukhan, a collection of rubaiyatMonis-e-Sukhan, a collection of rubaiyatTarana-e-Javed, a diwan of rubaiyat
He has composed over 1,500 rubaiyat, including experiments in free-form rubaiyat, and has explored various meters used in classical ruba'i composition.
Jami has also written fiction, including the short story collection:Purane Kapdon Ka Saudagar, containing 20 stories, of which five are translations.
His fiction includes both traditional and modern symbolic narratives. In addition to short stories, Jami has written plays, verse dramas, and has contributed to journalism and critical writing.
Literary criticism
Jami has written numerous critical essays. His collection Nayi Tanqeedi Jihatain was published in 2017 and discusses around twenty poets and prose writers.He co-authored the book Urdu Adab Ka Koh-i-Noor: Karamat Ali Karamat with Azizur Rahman, published in 2022 by the Odisha Urdu Academy.