About me
Born in Lahore, my childhood is shaped by the history of the city, both pre-colonial and post- colonial. The Mughal architecture stands majestic amidst the dusty horizons of the modern day Lahore, once the city of gardens, now my poetic Eden. In 2007 my first poem ‘A Farewell to Czeslaw Miloz’ appeared in Poetry Salzburg Review commemorating the polish poet who witnessed and depicted horrors of European theatre of two acts of war and chose exile for his poetic life. Poetry made me learn to empathize with the homeless and exiles. Read more
My Book
In his collection Lahore, I am coming, Rizwan Akhtar creates the voice of a bard who must bear witness to, not just the effects of a colonial past, but also the present, in terms of terrorist atrocities in Pakistan. Akhtar suggests that poets are chosen and much rather like a medium see opportunities for poems everywhere. As such these poems are finely crafted. There is a sense of a compulsion to write the world the poet sees, an imperative not to overlook anything. (Fiona Sinclair)
