Mahakavi M. P. Appan (29 March 1913 – 10 December 2003) was a poet and littérateur of Malayalam.[1] He was born in 1913 near Jagathi in Trivandrum district.[2] His parents were Madu and Kochappi. His original name was Ponnappan. He began his career as a school teacher after completing BA Honours from the Kerala University College, Trivandrum.[1] He retired as the District Educational Officer.[2] He had his imprint in the literary field for over 70 years. He was the president of Asan Memorial in Thonnakkal and Mahakavi Ulloor Memorial in Jagathi.[2] He was also a member of the Kerala Sahitya Academy from 1957 to 1967.[1]
Appan was one of the few poets of the modern era to be conferred the prefix "Mahakavi" which means "great poet".[3] He published around 50-odd poetry collections. Some of his works include Suvarnodayam (1936), Vellinakshathram (1939), Leela Soudham (1955), Kilikkonchal (1954), Soundaryadhara (1958), Udyanasoonam (1972), Satyadarsanam (1980) and Jeevithasayahnathil (1986).[4] He won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Udyanasoonam in 1973. In 1998, he received the Ezhuthachan Award which is Kerala's highest literary honour.