"'Tulip fields blaze the face of my soul's fire.' So begins one of the twenty-one ghazals in Dennis Daly's elegant translation of the work of the fifteenth-century poet, Alisher Navoiy. The fire that burns through these poems is complemented by stunning illustrations from the era chosen with care by the translator that set off their own quiet conflagrations"--Back cover.

Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib (1797-1869) lived at a time of historic change in India, a period when the British conquest of India was in its ascendancy and the Mughal empire was coming to an end. He was witness to the ravaging of Delhi and its courtly culture, culminating in the uprising of 1857. This trauma, accompanied by his personal losses, informs his poetry, evidenced in Divan-EGhalib, containing 235 Urdu ghazals redolent with a sense of loss, grief and a plangent longing for a vanished way of life. Yet, what sets his poetry apart is an irrepressible sense of humour, energy and linguistic delight that drive his darkest lamentations. In A Tribute to Ghalib, Azra Raza and Sara Suleri Goodyear select twenty-one ghazals that illustrate the astonishing range of Ghalib's many voices and the ideas that populate his poetry. Every ghazal is accompanied by an introduction, a literal translation and a detailed commentary, shedding light on the complexities of the individual sher as well as the ghazal as a whole. This book will be invaluable not only to the Ghalib aficionado but also the lay reader.

Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib (1797 1869) Lived At A Time Of Historic Change In India A Period When The British Conquest Of India Was In Its Ascendancy And The Mughal Empire Was Coming To An End. He Was Witness To The Ravagement Of Delhi And Its Courtly Culture, Culminating In The Catastrophe Of The Uprising Of 1857. This Trauma, Accompanied By His Personal Losses, Informs His Poetry, Evidenced In Divan-E-Ghalib Containing 235 Ghazals In Urdu, Ghazals Redolent With A Sense Of Loss, Grief And A Plangent Longing For A Vanished Way Of Life. Yet, What Sets His Poetry Apart Is An Irrepressible Sense Of Humour, Energy And Linguistic Delight That Drive His Darkest Lamentations. In Ghalib: Epistemologies Of Elegance, Sara Suleri Goodyear And Azra Raza Select Twenty-One Ghazals That Illustrate The Astonishing Range Of Ghalib S Many Voices And The Ideas That Populate His Poetry. Every Ghazal Is Accompanied By An Introduction, A Literal Translation And A Detailed Commentary That Elucidate The Complexities Of The Individual Sher And The Ghazal As A Whole. The Result Is An Erudite Introduction To The Work Of The Greatest Urdu Poet Of All Time, Which Will Be Invaluable Not Only To The Ghalib Aficionado But Also The Lay Reader Spellbound By The Intricate Imagery And The Dazzling Scope Of This Extraordinary Poet.

As an Iranian American poet, Roger Sedarat fuses Western and Eastern traditions to reinvent the classical Persian form of the ghazal. For its humor as well as its spirituality, the poems in this collection can perhaps best be described as “Wallace Stevens meets Rumi.” Perhaps most striking is the poet’s use of the ancient ghazal form in the tradition of the classical masters like Hafez and Rumi to politically challenge the Islamic Republic of Iran’s continual crackdown on protesters. Not since the late Agha Shahid Ali has a poet translated the letter as well as the spirit of this form into English, using musicality and inventive rhyme to extend the reach of the ghazal in a new language and tradition.

The prolific Mir Taqi Mir (1723Ð1810), widely regarded as the most accomplished poet in Urdu, composed his ghazalsÑa poetic form of rhyming coupletsÑin a distinctive Indian style arising from the Persian ghazal tradition. Here, the lover and beloved live in a world of extremes: the outsider is the hero, prosperity is poverty, and death would be preferable to the indifference of the beloved. Ghazals offers a comprehensive collection of MirÕs finest work, translated by a renowned expert on Urdu poetry.

Including the complete collaborative poems of Sheila E. Murphy and the late Michelle Greenblatt; three free-verse poems and 59 American ghazals. With a Foreword by Vincent A. Cellucci.

Since the middle ages, Persia has produced more great poets than any other country in the world. Sir William Jones about two hundred fifty years ago, in his introduction on Hafez, wrote, "...At Oxford there is a manuscript containing the lives of a hundred and twenty-eight of the finest Persian poets," of these, according to Iranians, the fourteenth century poet, Hafez, is their last, greatest, and the most beloved of all; even though, Persia has had poets like Sa'di, Khayyam, Ferdosi, Nezami, and Rumi to boast about! (Iranians take Rumi as a Persian.) They also consider Hafez as their most difficult poet to understand. One may ask, how could such a difficult poet be so popular among people of all walks of life? No Hafez scholar, heretofore, has directly addressed, or adequately answered this question! In this book, the author, for the first time, raises and answers this question by bringing convincing examples from different parts of the divan. Another unique aspect of this book is in the fact that the author has interpreted some couplets entirely different than what other commentators have done, and sometimes, the opposite of theirs! Still another difference that we find in this book is the sequence of the couplets in some ghazals. The author, in order to find the natural unity of the poems, he has arranged a new sequence for the couplets. Something that is lacking in all available divans. The translations are accurately and charmingly done in the form of uni-rhymed ghazal, and each one is preceded by the original, and followed by a commentary, something that has never been done before. This book is written for English-speaking people who wish to know Hafez, especially, the siblings of the Iranians in diaspora, whose children have heard the praise of Hafez from their parents, but are unable to read him in Farsi. It is for them to read him in english and put to test the judgment of their parents.

It is well known that Abida Parveen is one of the best and very popular Sufi singers throughout the globe. The Sufi ghazals are generally in Urdu, which contains many difficult words that, at times, are difficult to grasp. Many a time, a lay person fails to understand the Sufi poetry because of the Urdu and Persian words used in the stanzas, and because of this, these ghazals are considered complicated. The leaflets provided in the albums as well as the Internet fall terribly short in explaining the meaning of this splendid poetry. Further, many fail to understand the fact that Sufi poetry is not just the ordinary love poetry but a lyrical form with deep meaning depicting the ultimate reality. This work is an effort to translate these ghazals into simple English. What makes the book special is that it gives the ghazals in Devnagri script as well as in English with the meanings of difficult words. I hope that this work will go a long, long way in creating more interest in Sufi ghazals all over the world.

This selection of poetry and prose by Ghalib provides an accessible and wide-ranging introduction to the preeminent Urdu poet of the nineteenth century. Ghalib's poems, especially his ghazals, remain beloved throughout South Asia for their arresting intelligence and lively wit. His letters—informal, humorous, and deeply personal—reveal the vigor of his prose style and the warmth of his friendships. These careful translations allow readers with little or no knowledge of Urdu to appreciate the wide range of Ghalib's poetry, from his gift for extreme simplicity to his taste for unresolvable complexities of structure. Beginning with a critical introduction for nonspecialists and specialists alike, Frances Pritchett and Owen Cornwall present a selection of Ghalib's works, carefully annotating details of poetic form. Their translation maintains line-for-line accuracy and thereby preserves complex poetic devices that play upon the tension between the two lines of each verse. The book includes whole ghazals, selected individual verses from other ghazals, poems in other genres, and letters. The book also includes a glossary, the Urdu text of the original poetry, and an appendix containing Ghalib's comments on his own verses.