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.
About The Author :
To Urdu speakers, Faiz Ahmed Faiz needs no introduction. Winner of the Lenin Peace Prize, honoured as a member of the Order of the British Empire, nominated for the Nobel Prize, and awarded Pakistan’s highest civilian award, Faiz stands as a colossus of modern Urdu poetry. His poems, with their lyricism and commitment to justice, continue to suture wounds, foment revolutions, and inspire ghazal singers. and devanagari scripts.
Shiv K. Kumar has donned many hats and lived many lives: poet, novelist, short-story writer, playwright, translator and critic. He was born in Lahore, where he received his school and college education. He obtained his doctorate in English Literature from the University of Cambridge. He was Professor of English at Osmania University and the Central University of Hyderabad. He was also Visiting Professor of English in various British, American, European, and Australian Universities.
Shiv K. Kumar has published thirteen volumes of poetry, five novels, two collections of short stories, a play, and this translation of Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s poetry into English. His own poems have appeared in several renowned newspapers and magazines like the New York Times, Poetry Review (London), Western Humanities Review, among others—and been broadcast on BBC. In 1978, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (London). He received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1987 for his collection of poems Trapfalls in the Sky. In 2001, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan for his contribution to literature.
