Mazhar ul Islam is a Pakistani folklorist, poet, short story writer, and novelist. Mazhar ul Islam is an original voice to emerge in contemporary Urdu literature. His short stories reflect a new trend in Urdu prose. Deeply influenced by the 'magical realism' of South American writers like Gabriel Garcia Marquez, he has introduced this style in his native language with some additional symbolism of his own. He was born in a village near Khanewal in the southern Punjab where his father had then been posted by the Forestry Department for which he worked. After his father’s death in 1967, he moved to Islamabad. He has served as Director General of the Pakistan Academy of Letters, as Executive Director of Lok Virsa, and the Managing Director of the Mazhar ul Islam is a Pakistani folklorist, poet, short story writer, and novelist. Mazhar ul Islam is an original voice to emerge in contemporary Urdu literature. His short stories reflect a new trend in Urdu prose. Deeply influenced by the 'magical realism' of South American writers like Gabriel Garcia Marquez, he has introduced this style in his native language with some additional symbolism of his own. He was born in a village near Khanewal in the southern Punjab where his father had then been posted by the Forestry Department for which he worked. After his father’s death in 1967, he moved to Islamabad. He has served as Director General of the Pakistan Academy of Letters, as Executive Director of Lok Virsa, and the Managing Director of the National Book Foundation. He has been awarded the President’s Pride of Performance for Literature and a medal for Revival of Folk Studies....more