Modern Poetry of Pakistan

by Iftikhar Arif (Editor), Waqas Khwaja (Editor)

The first anthology of its kind to appear in English, "Modern Poetry of Pakistan" brings together not one but many poetic traditions indigenous to Pakistan, with 142 poems translated from seven major languages, six of them regional (Baluchi, Kashmiri, Panjabi, Pashto, Seraiki, and Sindhi) and one national (Urdu). Collecting the work of forty-two poets and fifteen translators, this book reveals a society riven by ethnic, class, and political differences--but also a beautiful and truly national literature, with work both classical and modern, belonging to the same culture and sharing many of the same concerns and perceptions.

Genres: Poetry, Pakistan

298 pages, Paperback

First published January 4, 2011

About the author

Iftikhar Hussain Arif (Urdu: افتخار حسین عارف‎; born 21 March 1944), commonly known as Iftikhar Arif, is an Urdu poet, scholar and littérateur from Pakistan. His style is romantic Urdu poetry. He has headed the Pakistan Academy of Letters and the National Language Authority.He has received the Hilal-e-Imtiaz, Sitara-e-Imtiaz and Presidential Pride of Performance awards, which are the highest literary awards given by the Government of Pakistan.

Notable works: Mehr-i-Doneem, Harf-i-Baryab, Jahan-e-Maloom, Kitab-i-Dil-o-Dunya

Reviews

[Samaa Ahmed · Rating 5 out of 5]

The introductory chapters are brilliant! I enjoyed them just as much, or even more than, some of the poems. They give a nice succinct history of the literary and poetic tradition of Pakistan, and examine the roots of shayeri in Persian and Arabic, and their significance in the political and cultural landscape of this region.

The introduction by Waqas Khwaja is a wonderful piece of writing and explores the process of translating into English. It's a great critique of language (in this case, English) as tools/vehicles of imperialism and colonialism. I would recommend everyone read that chapter, even if they are not interested in poetry.

The diversity of poets - in terms of their genders, ethnicities, languages, and times in which they wrote - is impressive, and these are only a few of the talented, canonical poets in Pakistan's recent history.

I really enjoyed Address by Josh Malihabadi - so scathing and poignantly written - about the hypocrisy of the British during WWII.

[Michelle Hoogterp · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great collection of poetry. I love the fact the editors address translation issues in poetry in the beginning. There are a great many love poems and political poems and what's terrific is that the images are new and there's no feeling of having read any of this before, of familiarity in the words, though the feelings between humans are shared.

[AS · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful ❤️ I read this as part of a personal challenge to read poetry from around the world, and this was a great find at the public library. I read a few poems at a time over the course of a couple of
months, and I just loved it.
Many thought-provoking poems with beautiful turns of phrase, by authors spanning several generations.
One of my favorite books I’ve read this year.

[Nida · Rating 3 out of 5]

I suppose this book is great for people who do not speak Urdu and would like an insight into the culture. But the beautiful poetry itself loses its magic upon translating it into English. Which I suppose is the case with most translations.

[Fzyr Esh · Rating 3 out of 5]

most of the translations are dull, literal and idiomatic, but on the whole, the book isn't bad. It offers a refreshing glimpse into the variety of poetic themes, and literary genres in Pakistan's contemporary literature.