Gyaan Adab presented an illustrated talk by Gieve on 18th October 2014 about his art, poetry, plays and creative education experiences. It provided Pune audiences with a glimpse into the life and work of a formidable creative personality.
Gieve Patel is a well-known painter, poet, playwright and creative educationist who has over the years etched a very special place for himself in India and abroad. He has published three books of poetry, the last one “Mirrored, Mirroring” published by Oxford University Press (1991) and has written three plays, which have been performed in Mumbai and elsewhere. “Mister Behram and Other Plays”, a collection, was published by Seagull Books (2007). His paintings are in public and private collections in India and in other countries.
He has been conducting an annual poetry workshop for school students at Rishi Valley School, Andhra Pradesh, for the last 20 years. “Poetry with Young People” (Sahitya Akademi, 2007) is an anthology of poems written by these students.
What makes Gieve Patel’s creative career so very significant are the high aesthetic standards that he has set himself and continually attains. His sense of humanity, vision and patient engagement with his pursuits is well founded in an understanding of the Indian experience.
Gieve started the evening by a reading of his famous poem “On Killing a Tree” and followed it with a discussion . He read a couple more poems after which he made a presentation on his artwork and discussed a few of his iconic pieces. Gieve then did a dramatic reading of an excerpt from his acclaimed play “Mr. Behram”, which filled the audience with awe.
The evening came to a close with Gieve reading a few poems written by his students in the age group pf 13 to 16 years, the poems were so wonderful and showed such clarity of thought that it left the audience wonderstruck.
