IQBAL – A SELECTION OF HIS URDU & PERSIAN VERSE TRANSLATED BY DAVID J MATTHEWS This book provides a new English translation of a selection of Muhammad Iqbal’s Urdu and Persian poetry in a form that remains faithful to that of the original. The translations present pleasing renditions of Muhammad Iqbal in an understandable contemporary idiom coupled with a conservative but well-wrought form. The purpose of this book is to give readers well versed in English some idea of the grandeur and, indeed, the beauty of Iqbal’s poetry. It is a commendable addition to Iqbal studies, in that it presents a refreshingly enjoyable English translation of some of Iqbal’s best poetic writings. LEGENDS OF THE INDUS BY SAMINA QURAESHI The five legends featured in this volume are drawn from the main regions of the Indus Valley, which stretches from the Himalayas to the desert sands of the Arabian Sea. These epic love tales include Adam &Durkhane from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; Sohni & Mahiwal from Punjab; Heer & Ranjha from Punjab; Omar & Marui from Balochistan; and Sassui & Punhun from Sindh. As part of her lifelong interest in preserving the rich cultural heritage of the Indus region, Samina Quraeshi began to record and document different interpretations of these folk tales in the early 2000s. Inspired by her mentor Dr Annemarie Schimmel’s interpretation of these folk stories as Sufi parables, Samina created a contemporary text inspired by this oral, poetic, musical and artistic tradition. HONOUR UNMASKED – GENDER VIOLENCE, LAW & POWER IN PAKISTAN BY NAFISA SHAH Based on Shah’s unique insights over many years of experience as a journalist, researcher, and administrator, this fascinating study shows how the state justice system and informal processes of redress are mutually implicated in providing a space for honour-related violence, in the Sindh province, known as karo-kari. The book is an insightful, scholarly, lucid, and coherently argued treatise on the topic of honour killings. It contains fascinating and richly detailed ethnography and engages on issues of concern across the anthropology of gender, politics, and law. This landmark study offers a new perspective for understanding and dealing with honour-related violence demonstrating that honour does not lead to violence but that such violence is a strategy ‘masked in honour’. STORY IS A VAGABOND – FICTION, ESSAYS & DRAMA BY INTIZAR HUSAIN EDITED BY FRANK STEWART, ALOKBHALLA, ASIF FARRUKHI & NISHAT ZAIDI Intizar Husain has been called the greatest living writer in the Urdu language, a living legend, and Pakistan’s pre-eminent chronicler of change. His voice of compassion and insight is much needed, not only in his troubled homeland but wherever English-speaking readers know about Pakistan only through the mass media. Born in 1925 in Dibai, India, Intizar Husain migrated to Pakistan in 1947. His epic novel of the Partition, Basti, was short-listed for the 2013 Man Booker International Prize and was recently republished as a New York Review of Books Classics Original. THE OXFORD BOOK OF URDU SHORT STORIES SELECTED & TRANSLATED BY AMINA AZFAR Some of the best Urdu short stories, from the earliest to contemporary works, come together in this anthology; all in brand new translations. Some of the stories included here are available in different anthologies in other translations, but there are also several that have been translated for the first time, specifically for this volume. The book demonstrates the range of the genre in Urdu. The translations are fluent and idiomatic, with a slight flavor of South Asian English that is entirely appropriate. A solid addition to South Asian literature collections. Published in Daily Times, August 31st 2017.