Ravishing DisUnities: Real Ghazals in English (Wesleyan Poetry Series) [Paperback]

Agha Shahid Ali (Editor), Sarah Suleri Goodyear (Contributor)

Book Description

Series: Wesleyan Poetry Series | Publication Date: November 3, 2000

In recent years, the ghazal (pronounced "ghuzzle"), a traditional Arabic form of poetry, has become popular among contemporary English language poets. But like the haiku before it, the ghazal has been widely misunderstood and thus most English ghazals have been far from the mark in both letter and spirit. This anthology brings together ghazals by a rich gathering of 107 poets including Diane Ackerman, John Hollander, W. S. Merwin, William Matthews, Paul Muldoon, Ellen Bryant Voigt, and many others. As this dazzling collection shows, the intricate and self-reflexive ghazal brings the writer a unique set of challenges and opportunities. Agha Shahid Ali's lively introduction gives a brief history of the ghazal and instructions on how to compose one in English. An elegant afterword by Sarah Suleri Goodyear elucidates the larger issues of cultural translation and authenticity inherent in writing in a "borrowed" form.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Why have so many contemporary poets who write free verse in English become so enamored of the ghazal, a difficult Arabic form? In the introduction to this wonderfully stimulating collection of recent ghazals by 107 poets, editor and poet Ali discusses the tradition's long legacy, which harkens back at least to the seventh century, and its unique stipulations. The name refers to "the cry of the gazelle when it is cornered in the hunt and knows it will die," a clue to its classic melancholia. The form consists of a series of discrete couplets in which the second line offers a surprising spin on the first. One rhyme scheme runs throughout the poem, and the rhyme must precede the refrain. This leads to an "epigrammatic terseness" that does not belie great depth of longing or, in the hands of modern poets, nimble wit and tempered joy. The ghazal truly is an enchanting form, and each poet, including Diane Ackerman, W. S. Merwin, William Matthews, John Hollander, and Jacqueline Osherow, fills it with sharply etched feelings and images. Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

"[A] wonderfully stimulating collection of recent ghazals by 107 poets . . . [the form produces] an 'epigrammatic terseness' that does not belie the great depth of longing or, in the hands of modern poets, nimble wit and tempered joy. The ghazal truly is an enchanting form, and each poet, including Diane Ackerman, W. S. Merwin, William Matthews, John Hollander, and Jacqueline Osherow, fills it with sharply etched feelings and images."--Booklist

"a gift to American poetry"--Washington Post

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Wesleyan; Trans. from the Arabic edition (November 3, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0819564370
• ISBN-13: 978-0819564375
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #224,217 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ravishing!, December 28, 2000

By 

Dominic G. Le Fave "Dominic" (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ravishing DisUnities: Real Ghazals in English (Wesleyan Poetry Series) (Paperback)

What a timely book with the potential to completely transform poetry and poetics as we know it! If Aga Shahid Ali's arguments for the Ghazal do not transform your sense of what you are doing as a poet, or what you think is happening in contemporary poetry, then the sheer vitality, cosmopolitanism, and incisive relevance of the poems in this collection will certainly do so.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Ravishing Introduction, April 9, 2009

By 

A. F. Clark (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ravishing DisUnities: Real Ghazals in English (Wesleyan Poetry Series) (Paperback)

I'm a great admirer of the editor's own poetry, particularly his ghazals. The introductory essay that begins this collection is extremely valuable to any student of this poetic form, which is not yet fully appreciated--or practiced--in the West. Prior to his far-too-early death, Ali was a great champion of the ghazal.

The ghazals of the contributing poets are mixed in their level of success. None are unworthy of scrutiny.

Sara Suleri Goodyear's afterword, and the editor's inclusion of a list of basic points that follows it, are also of value to anyone attempting to write poetry in this form.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars If looking for authentic Ghazals in English, April 18, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Ravishing DisUnities: Real Ghazals in English (Wesleyan Poetry Series) (Paperback)

This book is a worthy endeavor, but most of the poems are not in the traditional form of a ghazal as outlined by Aga Shahid Ali himself. If you are looking for a book of traditional poems, both in content and in form, try "An Audience of One" (www.freewebs.com/ghazals)