EDUCATIONAL BOARD
OF THE
INTERVIEWS DR. STEPHEN
GILL
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*Appeared on the online of the Ansted
University;
and part of it in
Cyber Literature (
1.Can you tell us something about
yourself and your background?
I was born in that part of the Panjab which
is now in
After teaching for a while, I
became a book publisher. From the point
of money and
respect, it was an
ideal profession. Though I
liked book publishing,
because I was also close to
writers and in a position to help them in several ways, yet I wanted to come
out of it for serious reasons. In order to be an ideal book publisher, I sought roses at unvisited
spots to bring them to the attention of
the beauty-seekers. A good part
of my energy and money was
spent in promoting these roses.
My own writing
suffered, because I did not
find time and concentration for
it. If a book was successful, every credit went to its author. If something
went wrong with the book, the publisher was to blame. Most writers thought
that publishers had
magic formulas to
make them famous. They did not understand the struggle
of a small or medium size book publisher in a country that had a nominal domestic
market. I found
book publishing a thankless job.
In addition to this, whenever I
attended a gathering of writers, even of non writers, I was introduced as
a book publisher. I was introduced as a writer lightly or just ignored.
Everyone in a group,
particularly of writers, wanted
to be cordial with me because they
had manuscripts either in their minds or on their shelves. Those feelings which are normally there when a writer meets
other writers were not there. My
life of writing
was being eclipsed
with my life of book publishing.
Though my name was
spreading as a book publisher, yet I was not making friends-- I was only
being known. I was losing
the friendship even of those
writers whom I had helped as a publisher.
I wanted to make friends-- I wanted to be respected as a writer, not as
a businessman. Due to these hurts, I
bade farewell to publishing after fifteen years. However, as a publisher, I came to know the mysteries
of this closely
guarded profession.
2.What experience or encounter in your
life has influenced you the most?
My life
as a student
at the University of Ottawa
has influenced my
career as a
writer and also as a book publisher. There, I learnt how
to do research
and prepare scholarly studies. This knowledge helped
me to evaluate submissions when I was a publisher
and also to guide others. Some of my term papers at the university I developed
later into my books. As a book
publisher, I learnt the professional aspects of writing.
3.What
are the main highlights of your
personal and professional life?
My life of material comforts in
4.Which of these are you the most proud
of?
None so far.
5.What is your idea and definition of
success in life?
Success is a
nonstop soul-satisfying struggle to reach the
oasis of a non reachable vision.
6.How can you achieve this success?
With a
singleness of vision. The achiever should
be willing to give up whatever is needed in the
long journey of
that vision.
7.Who do you think are the great
talents in your field?
Among writers, I would
include William Shakespeare, Robinderanath Tagore, Franz
Kafka, and George Bernard Shaw.
8.What person, living or dead, do you
most admire and why? How has that person influenced your perspective of life?
I admire Christ for his teachings of nonviolence and unconditional love. Next, I admire, Mahatma
Gandhi from the
subcontinent of India,
Lester B. Pearson from Canada, and Martin Luther King from
the United States. Their message was also peace. Their message that peace can be achieved through
peaceful means has impacted
my thinking. I believe, every action has reaction. That is the law of nature. For example, violence will breed
violence and nonviolence will
breed peace-- will usher in an era of prosperity. Nonviolence is
the way of
tolerance-- is the way of coexistence--is the
way for understanding. Today, human is on the
crossroads of survival and demise. It
has taken centuries
to build modern civilization. It will
take minutes to destroy
it, including human, if the
dogs of violence, in other words, the dogs of
intolerance, are set free. I have
explained this aspect
of my thinking
in my articles and in poems after
poems.
Another person I admire
most is my
mother. She taught me to seek advice from
everywhere and from everyone and then pick up the best or the best elements
from every advice. She has
taught me the
value of education and the value of self. I have
written two poems with my mother in mind. Her influence is obvious in my fiction also.
9.What
person, living or dead, do you
identify with most?
None-- I have my own
personality.
10.What failures, if any, have you
encountered, and what
are some of the lessons you have learned from them?
I feel
uncomfortable to list my failures
here--maybe one day, I will. The lesson that I have learnt from
my failures is the same that my mother taught me. That lesson
is to seek advice
from every possible corner and
from every possible
mean. Then
evaluate them dispassionately before taking
an action. I
failed because there was no proper guidance. I blame me, not
my hostile circumstances, for my failures.
Another lesson
that I have learnt is that
one should not
trust any human, not even spouse,
in adversity.
The third lesson is that
change is the law of nature. Instead of trusting any human, one should trust
Divine Power and one's own abilities. Change is bound to emerge.
The most important lesson
is concerning human
intelligence. It is imperfect. There are times when
a person should
listen to his/her
heart than intelligence.
11.What
do you regret most about your career and life?
I always wanted to be a writer.
I have wasted a considerable portion of my life around the institutions of
higher learning in the hope of collecting degrees. I was after the university
degrees, thinking that addition of
these degrees to the name of a writer helps to promote his/her
books. I was wrong. I should
have given up my pursuit long ago for the sake of my writing. I have
expressed these feelings in my poem "Stale Crumbs" which
is included in my collection, titled SONGS
BEFORE SHRINE.
To make
my life successful
as a writer, I made a few
additional decisions which unfortunately
were also wrong. I could have
been more successful in my chosen field if those decisions were right.
12.What
is the single thing you have learned in the past year that is most meaningful
to you?
In order to achieve something meaningful, particularly in
the field of creative arts, including singing, dancing, writing, speaking, one
needs some power
behind. To
attract that power,
one should depend on
one's own power
first. One should
not ignore external
powers. Creative
artists need them
at some point.
13.Do
you have a personal motto? What is it?
Yes, I do. It is
to give and
it shall be
given to you-- it is a law of nature. This includes, times,
advice, love, caring, hate, jealousy, violence-- in short everything.
14. If you can change one thing
in your life, what would it be?
That would be
to change the United
Nations into an effective institution. It would
be possible if its representatives are
elected democratically. The United Nations should
have its own military
and judiciary, and a tax collecting
system. This organization would oversee
that its Declarations of Human Rights are respected in every corner
of the global village.
This organization through its
democratic laws would rule the
rulers of those
national regimes that
are not free from
the shackles of
intolerance. This reformed United Nations will
ban military preparations.
Instead of wasting
human and natural resources on destructive activities, this organization will compel the national
governments to spend those resources to
improve the quality of life of their citizens.
15. How do you improve yourself
in your own personal development and continue to stay motivated constantly?
My vision
is the perennial
spring that keeps
feeding the source of my motivation.
I look for means all the time to improve myself to be closer to my vision.
16.What
would you advise others who desire to excel in your discipline or at least,
generally, in their work?
That particular desire to excel
should become a passion-- a single passion of life. It should become the air, the home, the bed,
the food-- nearly everything for the desirer.
17.What
do you like best and most about your work?
Freedom to find ways to share my message.
18.What
is your regular day like?
I get up around late in the morning.
It is because I
go to bed
around three in
the morning. I sleep on the floor. It is
not because I have
some sort of sickness. This is to
make life simpler. When I am away from home, I prefer
to sleep in a regular bed.
I exercise for forty-five
to sixty minutes right in my
room. Close to me, I keep
a small note pad. I write on that piece of paper the
important things I must do that day,
including letters to write, visits to make, telephones to make, any
article to start
or polish. I keep that
piece in my
pocket or in front of me at the
desk where I may
have another piece,
scrambled the day before, about the
work I must accomplish that day. That
3x3 inches yellow paper
is my constant
reminder to do those things first. If I have to go out, that piece
goes with me. I look
at it often to
complete those works first.
I am ready for my breakfast in the afternoon. I start my day with
fruits-- like apples, bananas. Tea is a must. I prefer English breakfast
or any good
regular tea. I prefer to start my day in front of my computer to complete my incomplete article
or the book. If there is
nothing to add, I will read that piece as a third person to
find if the piece needs editing. I love doing that
to improve the piece. During
my writing, I attend to my telephones. That gives
me a change-- something to relax.
Writing is a
profession that demands loneliness.
These phone
calls help to avoid the sense of
loneliness. Most of
these phones are from
my friends who
are writers. Once in a while, I
telephone concerning the payments of my bills.
For a change
or when I feel tired, I go upstairs
to the kitchen
to warm up a large cup of Soy milk and
come back with dry
fruits to munch with the milk.
If I am
tired, I would stretch
myself on a sofa for a few
minutes to a
couple of hours. This
gives me some rest
and also time to
think about the
writing that I am doing.
Now is the time to check my
emails. I always
start reading my emails
and mails with the least
important ones which are easy to discard. The most
important ones are the
last to read. Such letters are usually concerning my
writing or from my friends who are also writers.
I want to
answer my mail immediately.
I hate procrastination, because the next day, even the next
moment, something of a more serious nature may happen that may demand my full attention. I often receive
phones for immediate letters of reference, and forms
to complete for who's
who titles. Normally, I discard them, unless they are
from some respectable sources.
There are requests
also from publications
for poems and articles. Several requests are
for reviews. Every week, I receive
at least one publication to review
or to give
my comments. The books which I read first
are by the writers I happen to know.
I also receive doctoral dissertations from universities to evaluate.
This sort of life continues till
two and sometimes three in the morning.
No matter what I do, writing is
my first love. When I rest or sit quietly, even while
driving, I am still writing in my mind. I wrote a couple of short poems on this
subject, which appeared in publications, including Artbond,
Possibilities Literary Arts Magazine, The Byline,
and also
in a collection
of my poems, titled Divergent Shades.
I may have my
supper anytime. I love extremely hot, spicy food. I prefer fish and leafy vegetables. I also enjoy tea
between four and five in the afternoon. I want to make my life as simple as possible to
save time for my writing. The normal clothes which I
wear at home
are also for outside.
I wear suits for special occasions, such as for my poetry presentations and
talks.
My preference to sleep on the
floor has two reasons. I find it
comforting and simple. I do not
have to make adjustments
for my exercise. I condemn myself
if I am not able to write any day. I will have disturbing sleep that night.
There are several myths about writers. I would like to break
one of them here
that is about their writing time. On the average side,
writing takes not more than 25 percent of their time-- 75% of their time is
taken by promotion-related activities. They also have to write in their minds
before sitting in front of a computer. One may call it a time for thinking or a
period of gestation. It also takes time.
19.How
do you relax?
To be in the company of writers and/or I
lie down quietly at a quiet place.
20.What
do you hope to do and achieve one year from now?
To complete and have a couple of my books published also for
the honor of a Nobel Laureate. It is
not the goal
of my life to be a Nobel
Laureate. I want to be a Nobel Laureate because it would help me to share my
message with people to the widest possible extent.
21. Any advice for
You have an opportunity
to establish contacts with one another. Do not
break these contacts after you
leave your alumni. Life
would become busier because of marriage, children, profession and
other obligations. Most of you will be all over the world and therefore it
would not be possible to meet your university friends often. Keep writing to one another, at least once a year, on
birthdays or on religious occasions, to renew your contacts. To send a card of
good wishes once a year is better than not to write at all. Success depends largely also on contacts. Keep renewing these contacts.
You will leave your alumni with
a candle of knowledge. Use this candle to lighten the un lightened spots wherever and
whenever it is possible. In other
words, share your candle.
22.How
do you think your discovery and message has helped mankind in the world today?
I am just doing
my work--- my duty.
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