H Masud Taj is an architect-poet-calligrapher (www.taj.ca).
He was first featured as a poet by Jennifer Kapoor at her Prithvi Theatre
Festival (Mumbai 1978). As a post-oral poet, his audiences vary from
Officers of the Indian Navy at their Naval Base in Mumbai (architectural
site of his War Memorial) to a single Bosnian refugee in Vienna. He is
featured both as a contemporary Canadian poet (Atlas 2007) as well as a
contemporary Indian poet (Penguin Books India 2008, 2005, 2002,
Bloodaxe UK 2008, Wespennest Austria 2006, Fulcrum USA 2005)
besides being aired on BBC, AIR and CFMTV Canada. His work has
been translated into Arabic, Hebrew and German and interfaced with
architecture (Graz Austria), landscape (Toronto Arts Council, Canada),
calligraphy (Gallerie Jean concteau, Mumbai) dance (Dave Wilson’s
Parahumans Dance Theatre, Toronto) and with paintings (Jehangir Art
Gallery and National Centre of Performing Arts, Mumbai).
As an architect he was mentored by Hassan Fathy and as a
calligrapher by David Hosbrough. He has held solo-exhibits in the
English Italic-hand; his Arabic calligraphic-platonic-solid was shortlisted
in Switzerland and his Hindi calligraphic-posters were exhibited in
Scandinavia. His calligraphy is in the collection of Edward Said, Moshe
Safdie, Arthur Erickson, etc. His favourite certificate remains his
Kindergarten report card that graded his writing as “Bad.”
