baithak

↑ Grab this Headline Animator

Wednesday, February 04, 2009

Kishwar Nahid - By Asif Farrukhi And Sehba Sarwar

You ask her about work in progress and if there are any books in the press these days and she will name three. This is Kishwar Naheed, poet, writer, social activist, translator, editor, an important presence on the literary scene and generally busy on the social scene. The author of several books of poetry, including a hefty volume of collected poems, a new collection of her poetry entitled Wehshat aur Barood Main Lipti Hui Shairi will be out soon. The dialogue of Sartre and de Beauvoir is being reprinted with some additions, and also Qalam Bardashta, the third collection of her columns, which she writes regularly for the newspaper on social issues.

Surrounded by the handiwork of skillful women from across the country, we are sitting in her office at Islamabad, and in between last-minute arrangements for function to be held the next day, instructions to workers, visitors and many other such distractions we manage to talk books and writings.

Known as a voracious reader, Kishwar Naheed likes to keep abreast of the latest developments here and abroad. When asked about what she is reading, she gives an unexpected answer: ‘I am spending most of my time in proofreading,’ and explains that she is putting the finishing touches to the annual report for her organisation. ‘I have just edited the special issue of the Pakistan Academy of Letters’ journal, Adabiyat on Ahmed Faraz. This is a tribute to a good friend and an important poet.’

Oxford University Press, Pakistan is bringing out the English translation of her autobiography, Buri Aurat Ki Katha. It took a lot of effort but finally Durdana Somroo managed to produce an English equivalent of her expression in Urdu. A volume of her selected poems was published a few years ago and so many of her poems have been translated and included in syllabi in many countries that she has lost count.

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home