Ghazal Cosmopolitan Ghazals and Essays on the Culture and Craft of the Ghazal
By Shadab Zeest Hashmi

“A marvelous interweaving of poetry, scholarship, literary criticism and memoir: it is wise, welcoming, and a delight to read. There are poems here that are memorable in any context:and Qasida of 700,000 Years of Loveand one among those for me. I wish Agha Shahid Ali were still with us to read Shadab Zeest Hashmi's work. - Marilyn Hackerand “Written with a poet's grace and “love of the turning word, Shadab Zeest Hashmi'sand Ghazal Cosmopolitanand is a gift that enriches our literature with her elegant and intimate knowledge of the Ghazal, Qasida, and the riches of Urdu, a polygenetic language that grew from centuries of migrations, trade routes, conquests, empires. With a literary heritage of cultural exchange that naturally “empowers and praises the plural, hers is a much-needed cosmopolitan poetics generous, generative and timely. - Eleanor Wilnerand “Reminiscent of Bly'sand Leaping Poetry, this book,and Ghazal Cosmopolitan, is a celebration of, and a love letter to, the language of the world and its “polygenetics. With an amalgam of lyric essay, poetry, and clear-eyed literary criticism, Shadab Zeest Hashmi writes a primer on the Ghazal and Qasida poetic forms that should enter every classroom. Hers are a mind and a spirit that disarm monolithic attitudes. She opens us onto the heterogeneous origins of the word. - Fady Joudahand “Inand Ghazal Cosmopolitan, a smorgasbord of aesthetic pleasures viewed through the prism of the majestic Ghazal, Shadab Zeest Hashmi has launched a compelling argument for the cosmopolitan appeal of a beautiful poetic form, one that is unique in its economy and lyrical sweep, its reach of the mysteries of the Universe, theand Israr e Azal-all in the space of two lines. - Azra Razaand “An evocative tribute to the nesse and beauty of Urdu, this book introduces the contemporary American manifestations of the Ghazal form, acting as a bridge between the eastern and western traditions of literature. Hashmi keeps the reader engaged and wonderstruck by delving into the complexities of Urdu poetry without turning didactic. Above all, this collection is a celebration of how fine writing can overcome boundaries and expand the scope of human experience. - Raza Rumi