With 20 published books, poems featured in around 160 anthologies worldwide and translations of Sahitya Akademi Award winning works to her credits, 66 year-old Seema Jain has built a literary career spanning poetry, fiction, translation, editing and criticism.A retired English professor and former vice-principal of KMV College Jalandhar, Jain has worked extensively in both English and Hindi. Her edited anthology, ‘Vibrant Voices: 21st Century Indian Women Poets in English’, was published by the Sahitya Akademi, while two of her English translations, a Rajasthani novel and Punjabi short story collection have also been published by the Akademi.Recalling her love for literature, Jain noted it began with a deeply personal moment. When she was just 11, her father, a joint commissioner in the Excise and Taxation Department, wrote ‘Kaisa Yug Aaya Hai’, poem based on corruption in society, for her to recite at a self-composed poetry competition.She stated that her father remained an important influence in her craft even after his death in 1983. Jain was 23 at the time. The two shared a close and cordial bond, although they often differed in their outlook. “He was practical and I was idealistic, leading to certain arguments,” she recalled.Years later, while raising her own children, Jain began to understand the wisdom behind many of the things her father had told her. Those realisations eventually found their way into her first published book, ‘An Apology to My Father’, released in 2017 in his memory.Three years after, Jain retired from KMV College and decided to devote herself fully to literature. She began participating in online poetry forums and within six months, won 35 prizes. Since then, she has published 15 more books and is currently working on two.Her years at KMV, North India first women college have also influenced her writing, with women and their experiences remaining central to her work. This is reflected in her recent works tilted ‘Agnipakhi’, her Hindi translation of Rachna Singh’s ‘Phoenix in Flames’. The story explore grief, loneliness, exploitation and social prejudice, while also portraying women rebuilding their lives with courage.Similarly, her latest poetry collection, ‘Your Silent Love’ explores women’s issues, relationships, war, violence, human suffering, nature and social inequalities. For Jain, what began with a poem written by her father five decades ago has grown into a lifelong association with literature, making it a constant part of her life.