Customer Reviews

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

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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.

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.

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)

in the classic way of english writers who decide to tackle foriegn forms, this book cops out on presenting "real" ghazals in english. instead what we have are a collection of poems that could possibly be called "psuedo-ghazals" ...

the ghazal is a very beautiful and intricate form from an extremely rich culture and history; it should be respected as thus. this book, just from looking at the sample pages, shows me that this form has not been respected by its editor. ghazals have been written in english that can, in fact, be called ghazals and that conform to its highly rigid forms; the three ghazals presented in the samples do not show me a book that has attempted to find or solicit these ghazals or their authors.

if shahid should put together another book of ghazals in english, it is my hope more time will be spent compiling real examples of the ghazal form...