Seven Poems by Parveen Shakir (1952 – 1994)
Translated by Alamgir Hashmi
Abstract:
Parveen Shakir (1952–1994), author of Ḳhushbū (fragrance), ṢadBarg (Marigold), Ḳhud-Kalāmī (musings), Inkār (refusal), Kaf-e Āina (mirror-dust), and Māh-e-Tamām (full-moon), is one of the most popular Urdu poets in the subcontinent. Along with other women poets of her generation, she was responsible for developing a new expression for women’s poetry in Pakistan. A teacher and a civil servant in her country, she also spent some time in the United States, as a Fulbright Scholar. All Shakir’s poems included here are translated from her collection, Inkār (Islamabad, 1990).
Works cited
These poetry translations were previously published in the now defunct The Arabesques Review (Algeria), CipherJournal (USA), Wilderness House
Literary Review (USA), and Literatur- und Kunstseiten von Johannes Beilharz (Literature and Art Pages of Johannes Beilharz; Germany). These are reprinted in Urdu Studies with the translator’s permission.
Shakir, Parveen. Inkaar. Murad Publications, Islamabad, 1990.
Alamgir Hashmi is an Anglophone poet, translator, and critic. His work has been published in journals and collections worldwide. He has been Professor of English and Comparative Literature at European, American, and Asian universities. He has also served as a judge of the Commonwealth Writers Prize and the Neustadt International Prize for Literature. His last major volume of translations from Asian poetry was Your Essence, Martyr (Plainview Imprint, 2011).
Seven Poems by Parveen Shakir (1952 – 1994) © 2023 by Alamgir Hashmi is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
