Faiz Ahmad Faiz was an influential left-wing intellectual, revolutionary
poet, and one of the most famous poets of the Urdu language from State
of Pakistan. A rising figure and notable member of the Progressive
Writers' Movement (PWM), Faiz was an avowed Marxist-communist, long
associated member of Russian-backed Communist Party and was a recipient
of Lenin Peace Prize by the Soviet Union in 1962. Despite being
repeatedly accused of atheism by the political and military
establishment, Faiz's poetry suggested his complicated relationship with
religion in general and Islam in particular. He was, nevertheless,
inspired by South Asia's Sufi traditions.
Faiz was controversially named and linked by Prime minister Liaquat
Ali Khan's government for hatching the conspiracy against Ali Khan's
government, being Plot's central leader which was supported by left-wing
military sponsor Major-General Akbar Khan. Having being arrested by
Military police, Faiz among with others received a maximum sentence by
JAG branch, although his sentence was commuted after the assassination
Liaquat Ali Khan in 1951.
Biography
One of the foremost poets in the Indian sub-continent, Faiz Ahmed
Faiz was born in Sialkot in Pakistan. He studied philosophy and English
literature, but poetry and politics preoccupied him more than anything
else. For writing poetry that always antagonizes the ruling Žlite and
challenges colonial and feudal values, like such rebellious writers as
Ngugi of Kenya and Darwish of Palestine, Faiz had to go to jail
repeatedly during both colonial and postcolonial times in Pakistan.
Inspired by the Marxist ideology, Faiz's poetry exhibits a strong sense
of commitment to lower-class people, yet it always maintains a unique
beauty nourished by the long, rich tradition of Urdu literature. His
love poems are as appealing as his political poems, and he is considered
primarily responsible for shaping poetic diction in contemporary Urdu
poetry. Which poems deal with love, and which ones with politics? What
evidence is there that Faiz is a courageous poet? What is his attitude
towards loneliness and death?
Awards
Faiz was the first Asian poet to be awarded the Lenin Peace Prize,
the Soviet Union's equivalent to the Nobel Prize in 1963. He used
traditional meters and rhythms to compose poetry that was a blend of
Romanticism and realism. Before his death he was also nominated for the
Nobel Prize.
Faiz Ahmed Faiz's Works:
Naqshe Faryadi
Daste Saba
Zindan Nama
Mizan, a collection of literary articles
Daste-Tahe-Sang
Sare-Wadiye Seena
Shame-Shehr Yaran
Merey Dil Merey Musafar
Nuskha-Hai-Wafa
Pakistani Culture (Urdu and English)
