|
Dear Ali, It was so nice talking to you on
the phone. It is exciting to develop a creative friendship with you.
Let me share some ideas about the process.
In my mind there is a telescopic view....an
overview of Faiz'z personality, politics and poetry
And then there is a microscopic view., that
focuses on the details.
Since I never met Faiz so I am relying on
...his interviews
,,,,his autobiographical essays
....essays of his friends and family members
...essys of other poets, writers, political
activists and critics.
I would like to start with one interview and
then share my views and then you can comment and we will have a
discussion.
As we read more and discuss more we will
have a dialogue and that written dialogue will provide the raw material
for the final book.
The metaphor is intellectual food
...we will collect all the vegetables and
meats and spices
...prepare different dishes, appetizers,
main course and sweets
...serve an intellectual buffet in the form
of a book
I will start with Sheema Majid's book
BaatiaN Faiz say
it is a collection of interviews and essays.
I met Sheema Majid in Lahore Pakistan, a
young energetic lady. She is a very dedicated researcher. She gave me a
pleasant surprise when she gave me a
book she compiled about my favourite philosopher Jean Paul Sartre in
Urdu and told me that she had included one of my
translations in her book. Sheema goes to all
libraries and reads all magazines and then collects material that is
generally not availbale.
I will read the first interview Faiz gave to
Mirza Zafar-ul-Hassan about his childhood, adolescence and youth and
send you my comments. Interview is called
Ehd-e-tifli say unfawan-e-shabab tuk
It was published in the magazine
Quarterly Ghalib...April to June, 1976
If you wish i can send you a copy of the
interview so that we both have the same material.
As I pursue the microscopic view it will one
day join the telescopic view and hopefully we will have a more balanced
picture of Faiz as a poet, a philosopher, a political activist and a
peace loving human being..
all the best,
sohail
|