2006 NFIA** Award Winner from U.S.A. In Liberal and Fine Arts
Hillol Ray, Poet Laureate, Author, and Song
Writer, is an Environmental Engineer and Manager
of Drinking Water Supply Enforcement Program,
with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) in Dallas, Texas. Born and raised in a
suburb of Calcutta, India, he has been writing
poetry since the age of six, in his native
language "Bengali". His poems are regularly
published in Bengali magazines from Asia,
Europe, Canada, Sweden, and North America and
are currently being translated into English,
Swedish, Spanish, German and French languages.
Many issues of "Six Country Reporter" at EPA in
Dallas have also published his English poems.
But one of his recent poems, "Earth Day", has
made him an "overnight" sensation. It was read
at several local, national, and international
observations, presented at celebrations in
U.S.A. and abroad, displayed by the Dallas
Museum of Art, and has been published worldwide.
It also earned him letters of personal
recognition from the U.S. President Bill
Clinton, Vice President Al Gore, Jr. and Indian
Ambassador S.S. Ray (no relation) in Washington,
DC. In addition, he has received letters of
personal appreciations for his poems from Madame
Francine Cousteau, President of the Cousteau
Society, Inc. in Paris, France, (and wife of
world renowned Oceanographer Jacques-Yves
Cousteau), and also from Mother Teresa of
Calcutta, India.
Recently his poems "Old Wine in New Bottle",
"Homogenization - A Millennium Dream" have been
selected as "Choice Poem" by the Australian
Poetic Society. His poems have been displayed by
the J.C. Penney, Inc., University of San
Francisco in California, Cultural Association of
Bengal in New York, Southern Methodist
University in Dallas, TX; University of New
Hampshire in Durham, New Hampshire; University
of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor,
Michigan; Gallaudet University in Washington,
D.C.; Roane State Community College in Harriman,
Tennessee; Nazreth College in Rochester, New
York; Saint Vincent College in Latrobe,
Pennsylvania, Junior League of Anapolis (JLA),
Inc. in Annapolis, Maryland; Broward County
Independent School District in Fort Lauderdale,
Florida; DFW Green Alliance in Dallas, Texas;
Rangsit University in Thailand, Bangkok; Colegio
Jefferson of Caracas, Venezuela; Shanghai Jiao
Tong University (SJTU) in Shanghai, China;
NetFriends of Tibet Site in Stockholm, Sweden;
and also on the web pages of EPA in Washington,
DC, the Asian-American Village from Boston,
Massachusetts, and many other web sites from the
USA and abroad. He was invited as a
Distinguished Judge at the Earth Day Kids Art
Contest 2003, organized by the Asian Pacific
American Council (APAC) at EPA in Washington,
D.C.
The lyrics from his poem "Diversity" have
been included in the song album "Star Route
U.S.A." released by Amerecord from Hollywood,
California. He is frequently invited as a Guest
Poet, Keynote Speaker, and Seminar Moderator by
the various cultural organizations, educational
institutions, and public and university
libraries and has been interviewed by numerous
television stations. He was the winner of
"Bronze
Medal for Commendable Service" in implementing a
Consumer Confidence Rule (CCR) Strategy in 2001
and "Excellence in Regional Customer Service
Award" in 2002 - both from the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) in Dallas, Texas. His
biography has appeared in the Special
Commemorative Edition of "500 Leaders of
Science", and also in "International Directory of
Distinguished Leadership" (Eighth and Ninth
Editions) - both published by the American
Biographical Institute, Inc. from Raleigh, North
Carolina, and poems have appeared in many
popular anthologies. To name a few, "The Crystal
Prism" published by the CGS Communications in
Fort Worth, Texas; as well as "Edge of
Twilight", " Best Poems of the 90s", "A Delicate
Balance", "Best Poems of 1995", "Of Sunshine and
Daydreams", "Essence of a Dream", "Through the
Looking Glass", "Best Poems of 1997", "Chambers
of Time", "Beneath A Rainbow", " Chasing the
Wind", "A Painted Garden", "Melodies of The
Soul", "Verdant Lands of Spring", "Best Poems of
1998", "Fabric of Life", "The Rustling Leaves",
"Of Summer’s Passing", "The Peace We Knew", "The
Promise of Dawn", and "Outstanding Poets of
1998", published by the National Library of
Poetry in Owings Mills, Maryland.
Hillol Ray is the 2006 NFIA (National Federation of Indian American Associations) Award Winner from U.S.A. in Liberal and Fine Arts.
** NFIA is an umbrella organization comprising of over 200 associations representing 2.5 millions Americans who trace their roots to India.
Contact Address: Milestone, 2723 Riviera
Court, Garland, Texas 75040, U.S.A.;
E-mail: mukhosh@aol.com
