The Rebel's Silhouette: Selected Poems [Paperback]

Faiz Ahmed Faiz (Author), Agha Shahid Ali (Translator)

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: University of Massachusetts Press; Rev Sub edition (July 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0870239759
• ISBN-13: 978-0870239755
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #107,466 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The rebel within, April 8, 2002

By 

M. A. ZAIDI "Ali Zaidi" (Karachi; Pakistan) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Rebel's Silhouette: Selected Poems (Paperback)

Only a rebel can say words as deep and meaningful as
Aaaj Ka Naam Aur Aaaj Ka Gham Ka Naam
Zard patton ka Gham jo mera Dees hai
Zard ki Anjoman jo mera dees hai

Faiz is a poet of beauty and love. His message is the reign of beauty and love in the country. The passion for enjoying the beauty of life, his deep attachment to love of self and the agony of the world, his love of humanity, his patriotism, his passion for revolution, his sense of justice, are all metaphors of the agony of love. That agony of love which is the soul of his imagination and feeling, on account of which he illuminates the beauty of both worlds with the desolation of his heart. For Faiz, the testing power of beauty is in its creativity. Beauty is not mere artistic value, it is also a social and moral value:
The candle of a look, the star of imagination, All these illuminations have come from your gathering.
Whichever be the source of pain, we ascribe it to you,
Whatever complaints we have, are on account of you.

If it be the agony of the world, if it is the beloved's face or the hand of the rival,
We responded towards all of these with love.
Faiz wrote a sad revolutionary battle-song, the like of which is not be found in any language of the world:

For the love of your flower-like lips,
We were sacrificed on the dry branches of the noose,
For the desire of the candles of your hands
We were killed on half-dark paths.
And with revolutionary dignity:
On our lips the words of the ghazal,
And the torch of misery in our hands,
Gather our banners from the place of murder,
Caravans of other lovers will emerge,
For whose path our feet have shortened the distances of pain.

In the Lenin Peace Prize speech he had said:
I believe that humanity which has never been defeated by its enemies will, after all, be successful; even now and at long last, instead of wars, hatred and cruelty, the foundation will rest on the message of Hafiz, an old Persian poet: "Every foundation you see is defective, except the foundation of love, which is faultless.
And Faiz Sahib prays:

Let us too lift our hands,
We who do not remember the customary prayer,
We who do not remember any idol or God except love.

This agony of love is not only a part of the human condition but it is a relationship which extends from one end of the world to another. Faiz Sahib's love for humanity is free from the prejudices of race, colour or nationality. The new literature of protest suggests a radical change and, in the words of Faiz, it confers on us the power of "forcefully spurning the hand of the killer". It does not accept defeat because it is convinced that darkness should and must end.
When personal sorrow drank the elixir of world-sorrow, the lovers' love became doubly strong:

My heart repents neither this love nor the other,
My heart is spotted with every kind of sorrow,
Except the mark of repentance.

16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Poetry eloquent and passionate enough to bring revolutions., November 24, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Rebel's Silhouette: Selected Poems (Paperback)

Faif Ahmed Faiz was born in Punjab (now a province in Pakistan) in the early 20th century. He was brought up in a literary environment and was mentored by some of the most liberal minds of that time. Early in his professional career, he became famous for his poetry in Urdu and Punjabi. In the 60s he was involved with the communist movement and conspired with Russia and India to bring about communism in Pakistan. Not only was he unsuccessful in his conspiracy, but was also imprisoned for many years by the government of Pakistan. Some of his best works were conceived during those times of confinement. His collection of poems reflect his philosophy and inclination toward communistic way of living, but his poetic eloquence is convincing to even the most anti-communist of us. Such is the power of his words. Agha Shahid had translated the verses well, but the original flavor of Urdu is lost and so have the extreme passion and agony. I would recommend it to readers who are mature enough to distinguish illusions and fantasies from reality and practicality. There are some poems in the collection which are my favorite in their original Urdu form.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Faiz, the eternal, June 29, 2008

By 

Mohammad Omer "Umer" (Atlanta) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: The Rebel's Silhouette: Selected Poems (Paperback)

Faiz, the eternal. Faiz, the beloved. Sweet little collection of the Giants work. Had my favourite misra in it.

' Chand ko gul karein tau janein '

I dont mind paying 15 bucks for that. Heavy on the prison evenings though.