Faiz, A Wailing Nightingale

Now, a remarkable anthology brings together 104 Urdu poems of the celebrated Pakistani poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz (newly translated to English by Dr. Khalid Hameed Shaida). Born a century ago in Sialkot, Faizs mastery of the classical traditions of preceding generations of poets arose from exhaustive study of works in Urdu, Punjabi, Hindi, Arabic, Persian, and English. Not content to limit himself to aesthetics and form, he went on to frame a dynamic and engaged form of poetry that resonates far beyond Pakistan.

The poems in this collection establish Faiz as a great lyricist who embraced traditional motifs and subjects with an unrivaled passion and proclivity for verse that explores the natural and illusory qualities of love. Yet, Faiz was a wailing nightingalea tortured man who loved beauty, but found himself surrounded by the pain, sorrow, poverty, bloodshed, and tears of daily life in post-Colonial Pakistan. It is in this dynamic counterpoise that Faizs artistry becomes manifest, mixing the good, the bad and the ugly in a delightful manner.