Faiz Ahmed Faiz (1911–1984)

I requested a copy of this book of poems from the library because VioletBramble recommended it. When it came I read a few, found them interesting but not compelling and put the book aside because I had so many other books to read. When it was due I took it back to the library, but at the last minute, on a whim, I renewed it instead. And it sat for another week. On another whim I grabbed it as I went out the door when we were on our way to our get-away house in Vallejo. I’m currently reading a fantasy book that has to do with living under tyrants, fighting back and accepting responsibility for knowing that others may suffer because of what you are doing. There is torture, intrigue and most of all the importance of memory. This afternoon, giving myself a “rest” from my main read I picked up this book of poems. (There is a point to this "background!")

About the author: Faiz was born in 1910 (or 1911 depending on which reference you are reading) in Punjab, he earned degrees in both English and Arabic literature and in WWII served in the Indian Army, achieving the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. In 1947 after the partitioning of the Indian subcontinent, Faiz chose to live in Pakistan where, in 1951 he was jailed on a charge of planning a Soviet sponsored coup. He spent four years in prison under a sentence of death, mostly in solitary confinement. After his release he held various positions on newspapers, in the Pakistan government—depending who was in power—, won the Lenin Peace Prize in 1962 when his poetry was translated into Russian and became a world renowned figure especially in Pakistan, India, the Soviet Union, and the Middle East. He died in 1984 in Lahore.

Reading Faiz’s poems would give one no clue to his political views. He is a romantic poet writes of love, but usually as memory, especially in his “prison” poems. The feelings that resonated with me were his passion for life and his deep feelings about the suffering of his country and its people and his despair about not being able to “make things right.” There was also the feeling of finding strength to keep on trying, as well in the delight with so many of the “little things” in life. Many of his poems would put side by side images of love and peace with images of war and terror. Roses and blood were often used together, for example. In some ways my reading of his poetry this afternoon became entwined with the feeling I have been having about the novel I’ve been reading—life often means having to bear great pain and great responsibility to try to a greater good. One of his most poignant poems concerns a death by torture of a prisoner he knew.

I’m not expressing myself very coherently because in many ways I’m still trying to sort out all these feelings myself. It just seem strange—and somehow fitting for a passionate reader—how a fantasy novel written by a Canadian and a group of poems originally written in Urdu have made me think deeply about the world we live in—with is beauty and pain all mixed together. Also the importance of memory--remembering good times helps us endure the bad.

On another note—this poet introduced me to a new form of poetry, which I try, rather inadequately, to describe below.

GHAZAL, a traditional Urdu poetic form, is the most popular poem in India/Pakistan/Bangladesh/Iran. Many of Faiz’s poems use this form, of which he was a master, although the form must necessarily be lost in translation.

In Ghazal:

(1) Minimum 5 Stanzas, which is called share. (The introduction to the book said a minimum of 4 stanzas or couplets.) Mostly Ghazal comprises a 7 Stanza/share, but there is no limit; you can write thousands stanzas/shares as you like.
(2)Every stanza/share comprises 2 lines
(3) In first stanza/share last word in both lines is repeated.
(4) Thereafter, last word of 2nd line of all the subsequent share/stanza is repeated as last word of first stanza.
(5) MOST IMPORTANT is that every Stanza/share has separate subject or meaning

From the introduction here is an example– created by John Hollander-- to illustrate the form:

For couplets ghazal is prime; at the end
Of each one’s a refrain like a chime: “at the end.”

But in subsequent couplets throughout the whole poem,
It’s the second line only will rhyme at the end.

You gathered all manner of flowers all day,
But your hands were most fragrant of thyme, at the end.

Unfortunately, because Faiz’s poems were translated from Urdu, the form was lost in the translation, although you could see it visually on the Urdu page.… (altro)

The poems of Faiz Ahmed Faiz, one of the most important Urdu poets in India and in Pakistan, combine the older poetic modes: elegiac, romantic, introspective, with a fresh note of criticism of society, and the desire to alter it. Today, half a century later, Faiz’s poems have an historical interest. They contain glimpses of the Indian national movement, and the beginnings of the socialist movement.

The book focuses on the poet’s four collections, which represent not only some of Faiz’s finest work but also the best in contemporary Urdu writing. Kiernan’s versatile, scholarly and learner-friendly translation clearly brings out the qualities of Urdu poetry for readers in English.

The Urdu text appears here in easy-to-read calligraphed script with two translations, a ‘literary’ one that captures the essential qualities of Faiz’s delicately suggestive poetry; and a ‘literal’ one – a scholarly transliteration into roman script with diacritics – which is faithful to the text almost word for word.

Students and teachers will find Kiernan’s book an extremely useful basic textbook for the teaching and the study of the Urdu language.

"The language of both the literal as well as the poetic translation is grand, almost majestic...the translation…...places the reader face to face with a poet par excellence – his view of both the material as well as the metaphysical." - The Weekend Observer

"One could hardly wish for a more adequate and authentic presentation...to a readership not acquainted with the language in which it was written...The excellence of the translations is quite striking...High praise to all (those) who produce(d) it." - Ralph Russel in Modern Asia Studies… (altro)