Ghalib: Selected Poems and Letters (Translations from the Asian Classics)

This selection of poetry and prose by Ghalib provides an accessible and wide-ranging introduction to the preeminent Urdu poet of the nineteenth century. Ghalib's poems, especially his ghazals, remain beloved throughout South Asia for their arresting intelligence and lively wit. His letters―informal, humorous, and deeply personal―reveal the vigor of his prose style and the warmth of his friendships. These careful translations allow readers with little or no knowledge of Urdu to appreciate the wide range of Ghalib's poetry, from his gift for extreme simplicity to his taste for unresolvable complexities of structure. Beginning with a critical introduction for nonspecialists and specialists alike, Frances Pritchett and Owen Cornwall present a selection of Ghalib's works, carefully annotating details of poetic form. Their translation maintains line-for-line accuracy and thereby preserves complex poetic devices that play upon the tension between the two lines of each verse. The book includes whole ghazals, selected individual verses from other ghazals, poems in other genres, and letters. The book also includes a glossary, the Urdu text of the original poetry, and an appendix containing Ghalib's comments on his own verses. Ghalib: Selections From His Urdu Poetry And Prose Is An Accessible And Wide-ranging Introduction To The Preeminent Indian Urdu-language Poet, Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib (1797-1869). Ghalib Remains One Of The Most Popular And Influential Urdu-language Poets. He Also Wrote In Persian. Beginning With A Critical Introduction, Which Introduces Ghalib And His Work To Non-specialists, Frances Pritchett And Owen Cornwall Then Present A Selection Of Ghazals--the Classic Urdu Poetic Form For Which Ghalib Was Most Famous--his Poetry In Other Forms; Little-known Letters; And An Introduction To An Urdu Romance. The Careful Translations--more True To The Originals Than Prior Translations--will Allow Readers With Little Or No Knowledge Of Persian Or Urdu To Appreciate The Lyricism Of The Original Languages. Moreover, The Annotations Flesh Out The Nuances Of Meaning And Other Finer Details Of The Poetry. The Book Also Includes A Glossary And A Selection Of Ghalib's Comments On His Own Verses. The Urdu Text Of The Poetry Is Included.-- Acknowledgements -- Introduction: Ghalib's Life And Times -- Part One. Ghazals -- Part Two. Ghazal Verses -- Part Three. Other Genres : 1. Poems: Qaṣīdas (odes): An Ode In Praise Of The Prophet (1821) ; An Ode In Praise Of The King (1826) -- Rubāʻīs (quatrains): A Quatrain On Childhood And Old Age (1816) ; A Quatrain On Fireworks And Passion (1833) -- 2. Letters: To Tafta (1858), About The Terrible Losses Of 1857 ; To Mihr (1859), About Ghalib's Appearance ; To Mihr (1860), About The Long-ago Cruel Dancing Girl ; To Mihr (1860), About Being A Sugar Fly, Not A Honey Fly ; To Ala'i (1861), About The Poet's Life As A Captive -- 3. Prose: Preface To A Romance (1866) -- Notes -- Appendix 1. Ghalib's Comments On His Own Verses -- Appendix 2. Ghalib's Concordance, With Standard Divan Numbers -- Glossary Of Technical Terms And Proper Names -- Bibliography -- Index -- Urdu Text (76 Unnumbered Pages) -- [list Of] Translations From The Asian Classics (4 Unnumbered Pages). Edited And Translated By Frances W. Pritchett And Owen T.a. Cornwall. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. English Translation And Urdu Text. Ghalib (the pen name of Mirza Asadullah Khan) lived from 1797 to 1869. Primarily famous for his Urdu ghazals, he is also known for his letters, which paint a vivid picture of life in nineteenth-century Delhi. Frances W. Pritchett is professor emerita of modern Indic languages at Columbia University. Her books include Nets of Awareness: Urdu Poetry and Its Critics (1994), The Romance Tradition in Urdu: Adventures from the Dastan of Amir Hamzah (1991), and Āb-e Hayāt: Shaping the Canon of Urdu Poetry (2001), translated, edited, and introduced in association with S. R. Faruqi. Owen Cornwall is a visiting lecturer at Columbia University in the Department of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies. He is currently working on a book manuscript about Alexander the Great in the premodern Persian literary tradition. POE009000,Poetry/Asian,LCO004020,Literary Collections/Asian/Indic