WHAT makes a great verse? Is it theme, philosophy, imagery, precision, words or emotions? All of them, it seems. But there can hardly be any consensus about the ingredients of a great poem and everybody has his/ her own, personal criterion for great poetry. The choice of a favourite poet is, largely, a matter of […]
KARACHI: Despite the distracting ear-splitting sounds coming from outside of the Karachi Press Club, friends and admirers of journalist, poet and musician Musadiq Sanwal gathered and shared their memories of the late Sanwal at the launch of his poetic verses Yeh Natamaam Si Ik Zindagi Jo Guzri Hai and a music CD at the club […]
LAHORE: The 6th Alhamra International Literary and Cultural Festival kicked off on Friday at Alhamra on the Mall in the presence of celebrated writers such as Intezar Hussain and Bano Qudsia. “I stand here today in the presence of some living legends…I have been rendered speechless,” Lahore Arts Council Chairman Ataul Haq Qasmi said. He […]
LAHORE: Speakers, poets, singers and intellectuals at the Faiz Amn Mela (Faiz Peace Festival) said that Faiz Ahmed Faiz had always struggled and fought against the capitalist-ruling-elite class of the country through his poetry, was against war hysteria and promoted peace thoughts pinning to the left wing ideology. Faiz Amn Mela was organised on Sunday […]
Censorship is like a talkshow – people don’t get to finish what they are saying, but you’re not sure if that’s bad for democracy,” an emerging young leader told a group of reporters. He was among the thousands of civil society activists, artists, and admirers of the great poets Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Habib Jalib, […]
So the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) has started banning pages that do not fit the moral worldview of some of its more conservative office bearers. None of these pages are blasphemous by any stretch of the imagination but they do not fit the agenda that is being imposed by people sponsored by Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) who […]
A LARGE number of books on Faiz Ahmed Faiz (1911-1984), one of the greatest Urdu poets of the 20th century, have been written. The number of books that discuss Faiz exceeds the 100 mark and that does not take into account the periodicals that have brought out special issues or sections on him, nor does […]
LAHORE: The annual Faiz Aman Mela was held on Sunday at the Bagh-i-Jinnah Open Air Theatre to mark the 103th birthday of Faiz Ahmed Faiz. The poetry session was chaired by Dr Khalid Javed Jan, famous for his poem Mein Baghi Hoon Artists from across the country, including Arif Lohar, Waris Baig, and Abrarul Haq […]
KARACHI: It was so heartening to see Ghalib Library brimming with students and scholars of literature on Saturday evening where they had gathered to remember Ghalib, Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Mushfiq Khwaja. The three were bracketed together because of the month of February. Ghalib died on Feb 15, Faiz was born on Feb 13 and […]
Thousands of young enthusiasts from all over the world gathered in Pakistan’s largest city this week to participate in the 21st Karachi Hate-literature Festival, startling critics who could not believe such a large number of people in the country could actually read. “I want to blow myself up and kill all the liberals,” said Ghamgeen […]
LitFests as ‘cultural apparatus’ Arather systematic analysis of western cultural industries from a Marxist perspective began in earnest in the 1950s when a cohort of radical intellectuals – Paul Baran, Paul Sweezy, Raymond Williams, C H Mills, Herbert Marcuse, Ralph Miliband, and E P Thompson – began to investigate the centrality of what they sometimes […]
THE term ‘prison literature’ refers to the literature, fiction or otherwise, created during confinement. There is a long list of works that were conceived and written in prison and recognised as literary masterpieces. For instance, Boethius, a Roman philosopher, was imprisoned by Theodoric the Great on the charges of treachery. Before being executed, Boethius penned […]
IT is wonderful to have eminent playwright Girish Karnad, the producer of the classic ‘Tughlaq’, in Pakistan and to hear his views on literature, plays, films and language learning. That he has come to pay his tribute to Sadat Hasan Manto and Faiz Ahmed Faiz is also heart-warming. But Karnad Sahib did not have to […]
LAHORE: The Bangladesh government has honoured poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz and rights activist Asma Jahangir’s father Malik Ghulam Jilani. “The BD foreign ministry lamented that they were recognising these voices after many decades, but felt that to do so was essential as these individuals stood by Bengalis in their worst times,” said a release on […]
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