Anwar Ali (poet)


Anwar Ali, also known Anvar Ali, is an Indian poet and lyricist writing in Malayalam. He is also a literary editor and critic, translator, screenwriter, and documentary filmmaker.

Career

Literature

Anvar Ali's first collection of poems, Mazhakkalam, established him as a prominent voice in contemporary Malayalam poetry. Ali's poetry collections include Aadiyaadi Alanja Marangale and Mehaboob Express. Eternal Sculptures is a collection of his poems in English translation. His novella, Njan Rappai, was published in 1995.
Ali's poems have been translated into various Indian and foreign languages and have been included in several anthologies of contemporary poetry, such as Innan Ganges flyter in i natten ; Singing in the Dark - A Global Anthology of Poetry Under Lockdown ; Oxford India Anthology of Modern Malayalam Literature, Volume 1 ; and The Tree of Tongues.
Ali translated Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window, the Japanese autobiographical memoir of Tetsuko Kuroyanagi – a literary classic, into Malayalam in 1994. He co-translated Sirpi Balasubramaniam’s poetry collection Oru Gramathile Nadi. He has translated a series of modern Anglophone African poems and poems from Indian languages like Tamil, Hindi, Kannada, and Assamese into Malayalam.
On Anvar Ali’s contribution to Malayalam poetry, his friend and fellow poet Anitha Thampi has highlighted Ali’s unique exploration and transformation of the language of poetry in Malayalam. Further, Amrith Lal of The New Indian Express, a cultural columnist and critic, observes, "Ali has carried forward the poetic language, constantly experimenting with its structures, drawing from Malayalam’s rich inheritance of story-telling and narrative poetry, the careful moulding of poetic metres, cross-fertilisation of the vocabulary by borrowing from popular culture, street talk and community lingo, using classical modes as well as parody, leaning on cinema and performance traditions to energise the art."

Other works

Anvar Ali has notably experimented with the performance of his poetry. In 2015–2017, he created a poetry band, Leaves of Grass, with guitarist and composer John P. Varkey. The band's performances combined the stylistic aspects of performance poetry with rock music.
In 2018, he collaborated with Olam, an instrumental band, to perform Mehboob Express, a long narrative poem that has gained acclaim as a chronological, sociocultural saga and critique of Indian politics. In 2017, in the maiden show at Uru Art Harbour, Mattancherry, curated by artist Riyas Komu, Ali showcased the living culture around legendary Mattancherry singer Mehboob (singer) through an audio-visual installation. Produced under the banner of Image Commune, Ali's debut documentary film on Attoor Ravi Varma, Maruvili, was selected for the International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala ; Mumbai International Film Festival ; Jaffna International Film Festival, Sri Lanka ; and SIGNS Festival of Federation of Film Societies of India, Kerala.
He co-wrote the screenplay of Margam, an acclaimed Malayalam feature film, and co-directed a documentary series on the history of Malayalam cinema for Kerala State Film Development Corporation. He contributed to Shasthra Kouthukam, a science programme that aired in Doordarshan between 1991 and 1995, on behalf of the Centre for Development of Imaging Technology.
Ali co-edited the journals Pakshikkoottam, an alternate journal and publishing house, and Kavithakku Oru Idam, a journal for new poetry in Malayalam. He was the chief content editor of Seventy-Five Years of Malayalam Cinema, a digital encyclopaedia produced
by Kerala State Chalachitra Academy.
Ali was invited to South Korea for the Writer-in-Residence Program of the Literature Translation Institute of Korea in 2007 and attended the 2007 Afro-Asian Literature Festival in Jeonju, Korea. He has presented his work in various poetry, literary, and film festivals, including Young Poets Meet, New Delhi ; The New Voices, Trivandrum ; Asselieh Film Festival, Morocco ; Kavi Bharati, Bhopal ; Paju Book Festival, South Korea ; Sharjah International Book Fair ; Bharatiya Kavita Samaroh, Patna ; Samanvay: IHC Indian Languages' Festival, New Delhi ; Jaffna International Film Festival, Sri Lanka ; and Kokrajhar Literary Festival, Bodoland, Assam.
Ali's distinctive poetic idiom illuminates the lyrics of Annayum Rasoolum, one among the films that brought a paradigm shift in Malayalam cinema. In his subsequent work, he has continued to experiment with fresh and bold poetic imagery and style, thus treading away from tradition and gaining much popularity among young audiences and filmmakers. Some of his notable works include Njan Steve Lopez, Kammatipaadam, Kismath, Mayaanadhi, Eeda, Thottappan, Kumbalangi Nights, Nayattu (2021 film), Bhoomiyile Manohara Swakaryam, Malik (film), and Oru Thekkan Thallu Case.

Awards

Literary awards

Other awards

Literary works

  • 1994 – Janalakkarikile Penkutty
  • 1995 – Njan Rappai
  • 1999 – Mazhakkalam
  • 2007– Eternal Sculptures
  • 2009 – Aadiyaadi Alanja Marangale
  • 2010 – Oru Gramathile Nadi
  • 2025 – ''Gaandhithodalmaala''