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

~ Agha Shahid Ali (Editor), Sarah Suleri Goodyear (Contributor) "Clouds of mistletoe hang in the poplars, which can't survive..." (more)
Key Phrases: unbuttoned sleeves, darker edges, mild night, America Lane

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

On Location In The Loire Valley by Diane Ackerman
The Hollywood Version by Sondra Audin Armer
Ghazal For Garcia Lorca by Craig Arnold
Sleep Of Leaves by Diane Averill
Locust Ghazal-dazzle by John Balaban
Ghazal Of Paradise by Carol Jane Bangs
Enchantment by Molly Bendall
My Memoir by Lorna Knowles Blake
Says The Prophet by Robert Bruce Boswell
Czechoslovakian Blues by Karen Brennan
The Nightingale by Sharon Bryan
Drowning Ghazals by Denver Butson
New England by John Canaday
What Is A Poem? by Robert N. Casper
The Anonymous Lover by G. S. Sharat Chandra
Game Of Logic by G. S. Sharat Chandra
House Of A Nautch Girl by G. S. Sharat Chandra
Well by Richard Chess
Canyon by Katharine Coles
Marriage by Katharine Coles
Ghazal by Michael Collier
Home by Michael Collier
Hers by Martha Collins
Now by Steven Cordova
Consider by Katherine Cottle
Everyone Wants The Earth by Rachel Dacus
Partition Ghazals by Keki N. Daruwalla
Dream by Marcyn Del Clements
Night by Marcyn Del Clements
Writing-painting by Sharon Dolin
Baseball by John Drury
For Laurie by John Drury
Ghazal Of An Island by John Drury
Ghazal Of The Lagoon by John Drury
Night Sounds by John Drury
Of The Tides by John Drury
The Weekend by John Drury
A Southern Ghazal by Faiz Ahmed Faiz
Cursed Philosophy, The Destruction Of The Philosophers by Dominic Le Fave
For A Poetess by Annie Finch
Moon And Page Ghazal by Forrest Gander
Sensations Upon Arriving by Forrest Gander
Ghazal by William Reginald Gibbons
Belief by Justin Goldberg
Miniature Ghazal by Sara Suleri Goodyear
On Paradise by John Gribble
Ghazal by John Haag
Ghazal On Half A Line By Adrienne Rich by Marilyn Hacker
The Red Dress Of Poetry by Daniel Hales
Souvenir by Daniel Hall
Ghazal by Robert Hastings
For The Man In The Yellow Leather Jacket by Christian Hawkey
Calamity, Angel by James Heflin
Spring Wedding by Cynthia Hogue
Ghazal On Ghazals by John Hollander
Ghazal; The Shade Of The Author Of Indian Love Lyrics Speaks by John Hollander
For Marthe by Colette Inez
Four Ghazals: 1 by David Raphael Israel
Four Ghazals: 2 by David Raphael Israel
Four Ghazals: 3 by David Raphael Israel
Four Ghazals: 4 by David Raphael Israel
By Your Nature by James Jack
Ghazal by Shelli Jankowski-smith
An Introductory Ghazal by Shelli Jankowski-smith
Ghazal by Paul Jenkins
Poland Ghazal by Paul Jenkins
The Life Story Of Eddie Son House James, Jr. As Told Through His.. by A. Van Jordan
A Dream World by Bhagwan Kapoor
Ghazal by Bhagwan Kapoor
In Another Country by Rafiq Kathwari
Ghazal by Richard Kenney
Your Name by Richard Kenney
Ghazal by Mirza Asadullah Beg Khan
Miscellany by Nancy King
Ghazal by Phyllis Koestenbaum
On The Table by Maxine W. Kumin
Faintly by Anthony Lacavaro
Ghazal by Anthony Lacavaro
Destiny Haunts by Kelly Le Fave
Ghazal by Kelly Le Fave
I Am A Ghazal by Gabrielle Lemay
Dark Ghazal by Stuart Lishan
Drink, My Love, And Deeply by Barbara Little
Dazzle by William Matthews
Drizzle by William Matthews
Frazzle by William Matthews
Guzzle by William Matthews
Muzzle by William Matthews
Nozzle by William Matthews
Puzzle by William Matthews
Ghazal by Glyn Maxwell
After Magritte by Joseph Donald Mcclatchy
Ghazal Of The Better-unbegin by Heather Mchugh
The Causeway by William Stanley Merwin
Harm's Way by William Stanley Merwin
Ghazal by Padmini Mongia
A Double Ghazal For Seamus Heaney by Paul Muldoon
The Little Black Book by Paul Muldoon
Summer Whites by Isabel Nathaniel
For The Love Of Saints by Mill Norman-risch
Dreamers by Peggy O'brien
Trust by James O'keefe
Comet Ghazal by Jacqueline Osherow
The Dome by Elise Paschen
Sam's Ghazal by Elise Paschen
The Flight by Peg Peoples
Ghazal by Teresa M. Pfeifer
In Open Meadow by Teresa M. Pfeifer
Polio by Stanley Plumly
Wight by Stanley Plumly
Oranges by Mary Pryor
Regret by Mary Pryor
(un)mask by John Richard Reed
Air Raid by John Richard Reed
Ghazals by John Richard Reed
Waterfall by John Richard Reed
On The Wing by Mary Jo Salter
Prayer by Grace Schulman
Soup by Sagaree Sengupta
Ghazal Of Perfume by Greg Simon
Covenant by Maurya Simon
Ghazal by David Rytman Slavitt
Finally by Ron Smith
Incarnation by Ron Smith
Royal by Carole Stone
Old-stuff Ghazal by Elisabeth Stoner
With Insomnia Goes Imagination by Adrienne Su
No Palms by Dorothea Tanning
Famous Pairs by Judith Taylor
Broken Ghazal by Jennifer Tonge
Pouring The Wine by Roderick Townley
The Window by Wyatt Townley
Ghazal Of The Winter Storm by Ann Townsend
Himalaya by Ellen Bryant Voigt
Ghazal by Bryan Walpert
Side Street by Rosanna Warren
At Night by Robert William Watkins
In Bogs by Robert William Watkins
Ghazal by Ellen Dore Watson
Rilke's Angels by Paul West
Autumn by Rachel Wetzsteon
Lost Letter by John Edgar Wideman
Nocturne by John Edgar Wideman
End Without World by Bruce Williams
Ghazal Of Faithfulness by Bruce Williams
Ghazal by Eleanor Wilner
Ghazal by Stephen Yenser
Eating The Season by David Young
How Many Bouquets? by Harriet Zinnes
Intervals by Martha Zweig
-- Table of Poems from Poem Finder® --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Wesleyan; 1st edition (November 3, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0819564370
• ISBN-13: 978-0819564375
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.7 x 0.7 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.com Sales Rank: #82,609 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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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	"odyseas" (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews

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.

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 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)

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)

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.