Rococo and Other Worlds
Page 5
As a gentleman
from the spirit of the deceased
In the capacity of a poet
I wrote the dirge of a rabid dog
As a gentleman
I recited it and died
About the Poet
AFZAL AHMED SYED (born 1946 in Ghazipur, India) holds a unique place among contemporary poets of the Urdu language. He is a master of both classical and modern Urdu poetic expression and a leading proponent of linguistic experimentation. He has published three collections of the modern nazm genre titled Chheni Hoi Tareekh (An Arrogated Past, 1984), Do Zubanon Mein Saza-e Maut (Death Sentence in Two Languages, 1990), and Rococo Aur Doosri Duniyaen (Rococo and Other Worlds, 2000). He has also published one ghazal collection, Khaima-e Siyah (The Dark Pavilion, 1988). His collected works titled Matti Ki Kaan was published in 2009.
About the Translator
MUSHARRAF ALI FAROOQI’s critically acclaimed translation of the Indo-Islamic legend The Adventures of Amir Hamza was published by Modern Library in 2007. He is currently translating the world’s first magical fantasy epic, Hoshruba from the Urdu. His novel The Story of a Widow (2008) was published by Knopf Canada, and a children’s picture book The Cobbler’s Holiday or Why Ants Don’t Wear Shoes (2008) by A Neal Porter Book/Roaring Brook Press. His website is www.mafarooqi.com.
About The Driftless Series
The Driftless Series is a publication award program established in 2010 and consists of five categories:
DRIFTLESS NATIONAL, for a second poetry book by a United States citizen
DRIFTLESS NEW ENGLAND, for a poetry book by a New England author
DRIFTLESS ENGLISH, for English language poetry from an author outside the United States
DRIFTLESS TRANSLATION, for a translation of poetry into English
DRIFTLESS CONNECTICUT, for an outstanding book in any field by a Connecticut author
The Driftless Series is funded by the Beatrice Fox Auerbach Foundation Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving. For more information and a complete list of books in The Driftless Series, please visit us online at http://www.wesleyan.edu/wespress/driftless.