Faiz Ahmed Faiz (1911-1984) Was One Of The Leading, If Not The Foremost, Poet Of The Indian Subcontinent During The Greater Part Of The Last Century. Listed Four Times For The Nobel Prize Of Poetry, He Was Often Compared To His Friend Pablo Neruda, Revolutionary Poet And Nobel Prize Winner, Of Chile. Of Faiz'S Multifaceted Personality, Which Led Him To Become, Amongst Other Things, An Activist For Human Rights And Liberties, A Famous Journalist And Editor Of Liter. Ary Magazines (Urdu & Others), Trade Unionist, And Film Songwriter, It Is His Poetry Which Will, No Doubt, Best Survive The Test Of Time. His Very Firit Volume Of Poetry, Published In 1941 From Lucknow, Brought Him Instant Celebrity. Naqsh- E-Faryadi Or Imprints Has Since Haunted More Than One Generation Of Urdu Lovers. Its Combi- Nation Of Classical And Elegant Indo-Persian Dic- Tion With Modern Sentiment And Sensibility Still Touches The Heart Of The Reader. Apart From Inventing The Modern Urdu Love Poem, Faiz Revolutionised The Classical Form Of Urdu Poetry, The Ghazal, Giving It A Powerful Socio-Political Resonance. He Used Ancient Forms Of Poetry, Such As The Qawwali And The Geet, To Convey His Message Of Humanism Without Reference To Caste, Colour Or Creed. He Suffered Prison And Exile For This In His Homeland Of Pakistan, Where He Was, For Long Years, Denied Access To The Media. The Musicality Of His Verse Has Continued To Haunt Many A Younger Poet, Even Though It Is Difficult To Attain His Unforgettable Summits. The Chronological Presentation, Herein, Of 60 Poems, 10 Quatrains And No Less Than 30 Ghazals, Some Never Translated Into English Before, Will Enable The Reader To Follow The Development Of The Young And Romantic Poet Into The Foremost Leader Of The Literary Opposition To Those Who Tr.Unple On Human Rights, And The Defender Of The Lowly And The Mute. A Transcription Into Roman Script (With A Glossary In Roman) Has Been Added For Those Who Can Understand, But May Not Be Able To Read, Urdu.

Faiz Ahmen Faiz is looked on as the most important Urdu poet in both India and Pakistan. This collection of his poems is representative of the best in contemporary Urdu writing. The Urdu text is presented with English translations.

This book is not intended to provide a list of the 100 ‘best’ books ever written and published by Punjabi authors. Given the sheer range of books written by Punjabi authors and the unpredictability of individual taste, any such definitive list is quite impossible. Secondly, the choice has been restricted to books that were written by them either in Punjabi, Hindi or Urdu but have been translated into English. Thus, personal choice restricted by availability has dictated this selection. The choice of books includes autobiographies, novels, short stories, poems, and plays. Research books, religious books, and books written originally in English have not been included. From the Introduction I am amazed at the scholarship, the passion and the love with which Paramjeet Singh has written this book. It will be a reference volume for all times. Nirupama Dutt Poet, Journalist & Translator Mr. Singh’s effort is commendable as he is making available some of the rarest of gems of Punjabi literature to the non-Punjabi readers. I congratulate Mr. Singh on putting together this selection and hope that non-Punjabi readers of this book would find new horizons of cultural experience opening up before them. Of course, for Punjabi readers, it may be yet another opportunity to experience a sense of genuine pride in their rich legacy of language, literature and culture. . Prof. Rana Nayar

This book contains English translation of about 270 poems and quatrains derived from the 8 books of Urdu poetry that Faiz Ahmed Faiz published from 1941 to 1984, over a tumultuous period of 4 decades. For helping him and his poetry put in context, the book includes a ‘Preface’, how other writers viewed his poetry, including his own views on his poetry and how it sought social justice and freedom of speech and action, through his own incarcerations. This is another effort to bring to English readers poetry from a culturally philologically distant language and culture, and ‘A Word on Translation’ elaborates the issues involved. Recent Emergency in Pakistan (November 2007) also showed how relevant his poetry still was when protestors marched around, one of the slogans being, “Bol” (‘Speak Up’), the title of a poem he published in 1941.

Considered the leading poet on the South Asian subcontinent, Faiz Ahmed Faiz (1911-1984), winner of the 1962 Lenin Peace Prize, was an outspoken opponent of the Pakistani government. This volume offers a selection of Faiz's poetry.

In this bilingual edition of Faiz Ahmed Faiz's mature work, Naomi Lazard captures his universal appeal: a voice of great pathos, charm, and authenticity that has until now been little known in the English-speaking world. Originally published in 1987. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s poetry continues to inspire and enthral contemporary readers. The Best of Faiz consists of Shiv K. Kumar’s translations of Faiz’s most popular Urdu poems into English. The collected poems include ‘Mujh Se Pehli Si’, ‘Subhe Azadi’, ‘Sochne Do’ and ‘Bol’. This edition also includes a translator’s foreword and the original poems in nastaliq and devanagari scripts.