Zile Singh

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      “ Where the Sun reaches not; The writers penetrate”

 

The Writers International Network(WIN), Canada was founded in 2010 by Ashok Bhargava, an Indo-Canadian based in Vancouver, with an objective to discover, nourish, recognize, celebrate and promote writers and assist them to connect with other writers locally and internationally.  The WIN believes that poets have the potential to evoke an awareness, not only in ourselves but inour readers as well through poems based on the effects of environment,  human psyche, health, arts, love, relationships, culture and world peace. More than 350 members of WIN come from different religious, regional, ethnic and linguistic backgrounds.

Since the inception of WIN, various events have taken place in Vancouver, Richmond and Surrey. His Worship the Mayor of Richmond even allowed WIN to hold its meetings in the room where his Council meets. Under its banner meetings have also been organized in India, Italy, South Korea, Turkey and the Philippines. One such meeting was held in Andaman and Nicobar, India in 2018.  The main attraction of that meeting was participation by an eminent United Nations former Deputy Secretary- General,  a former Minister of Foreign Affairs, government of India and an acclaimed international speaker and writer Shashi Tharoor.   The Writers International Network published a chapbook of poetry titled “Climate at Crossroads” to celebrate UNESCO World Poetry Day on March 21, 2022. 

On December 17, 2022, WIN organized a get together at Moberly Arts & Cultural Centre, 7646 Prince Albert Street, Vancouver.  A small brief on the prominent poets who recited their poetry and who were awarded on the occasion:

  1. Bonnie Quan Symons-  A well-established poet in Canada, the United States and Australia.  A recipient of the 2016 Nehru Humanitarian Award, Bonnie works at the BC Teachers’ Federation. 

 

  1. H.W.(Herb) Bryce-  An established  contributor in many national and international magazines.  He was one of the  Judges for the Rabindranath Tagore  International Award for English Poetry Competition-2017.  Bryce is a member of the Federation of BC Writers and Royal Literary Arts Society.

 

  1. Eva Waldauf – For the past 16 years Eva’s poems have been published in many anthologies including one in UNESCO’s  ‘Climate at Crossroads’ in 2022. She wrote: “ Lytton will mourn, people escaped, but lives shattered, grieve the loss of pets, friends, neighborhoods, businesses, links, a way of life.”Her latest books are Atlantic Adventures and Big City Romance. 

 

  1. Cynthia Sharp – A full member of the League of Canadian Poets is a recipient of Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from  Washington. She was on the Executive Board of the Federation of British Columbia Writers. Her poetry collection ‘Rainforest in Russet’ is available in bookstores. 

 

  1. Alejandro Mujica-Olea _ Author of twelve books and co-founder and host with Ariadne Sawyer at “The World Poetry Reading Series at Vancouver Public Library.  Alejandro is one of the founders of Latin American Writers of the Project Cultural South Vancouver.”  He was a “Poet Laureate of the Anglican Church of Saint Thomas on its 100th Anniversary. He has represented Canada in numerous countries in literary circles. 

 

  1. Ashok Bhargava – Founder President of WIN and Group of Poets International (GOPI) has many books of poetry to his credit. He is recipient of Poets without Borders Peace Award, Washington – Poet Laureate, Axiepin, Philippines and Uluslararsi Sair Award, Istanbul, Turkey. To quote Ashok from “Climate at Crossroads”,

 

“….Forest fires burn the foliage and your wings,

      ending the eternal cycle of life

Not knowing the future, you hold on to hope.”

Freddie and Remie- Well known Filipino community activists were introduced to the gathering.  They are the founders and choreographers of a group called “Chichiquita Dancers”.  Recently they were appointed as ‘Brand Ambassadors’ for a multi-million-dollar real estate developer in the Philippines.

Zile Singh, Ambassador(Retd.) speaking on the occasion said that the writers are the un-elected representatives of society who rule not by the ‘rule of law’ but by the ‘rule of spirit’.  Their jurisdiction is ‘beyond borders’ in bridging the gap by advocating ‘liberty, equality and fraternity’.  They are the real ambassadors for ‘world peace’.  To him,   “To Connect the Community through Letters” is one of the strong tools to strengthen the inherent  nature of Canadian ethos of ‘diversity and multiculturalism’. 

Finally, “Once, poets were magicians.  Poets were strong, stronger than warriors and kings – stronger than old gods.  And they will be strong once again”. All scriptures of the world are in the form of poetry.  

We walk, we talk, we read, or we write.

We weep, we sleep or even if we fight.

Flower, plant, grass, and a swaying tree.

Stand, and stare, it is nothing but poetry. 

  • Zile Singh

Zile Singh is a well respected Columnist, Writer and a Vipassana Meditater. He has a Post-Graduate Diploma in Human Rights.  He can be reached at zsnirwal@yahoo.ca