Overview

When Sleep Journeys first appeared in 1981, it took the Urdu poetry world by storm. Now considered one of the finest contemporary Urdu poets, Azra Abbas was among the first to embrace experimental, free verse poetry, a form that took time to gain traction in a field dominated by traditional forms. A single book-length poem, divided into three cantos, Sleep Journeys remains one of Abbas's most complex works, a dreamlike rumination that explores faith, female desire, and the subconscious mind. Her language is simple and austere, the complexity of the work emerging through repetition, interweaving, and juxtaposition. The result is a gossamer thread that leads the reader through a labyrinth of metaphor, imagery, and awe. Award-winning translator Daisy Rockwell has crafted a poetic translation that captures the rhythm and flow of the original. Though comprising a vast web of interwoven prose, each page is self-contained, with the original Urdu facing the English. At the end of the book, a transliteration into Roman script allows readers of Hindi the opportunity to access the original. All told, the book ushers us into the state that lies between sleeping and waking, exploring hidden thoughts and desires; this edition brings one of the most celebrated Urdu poems from the late twentieth century to a broader, worldwide readership.

Full Product Details

9780299355647

Table of Contents

Reviews

""A work of rapturous imagination. On every page, Abbas took my breath away with her astonishingly vibrant images, which Rockwell re-creates with riveting immediacy in her stunning translation. What a joy to read a translation in which the translator and poet are so well matched in their talent and inventiveness.""--Idra Novey, judge, Wisconsin Prize for Poetry in Translation ""Sometimes Abbas's poems are weather warnings, sometimes bulletin boards from the bazaar, sometimes whispered admonitions. Some are, indeed, delicate curses, others are shouting matches; some are quiet prayers, others are howls of protest; and some are jokes so elaborate and heartfelt that you smile and clutch your heart at the same time.""--Mohammed Hanif ""The vulnerabilities and anxieties of relationships are delicately and masterfully explored through a girl's probing and foretelling vision. Abbas's unique voice bridges the poetic and the mundane through a controlled expression.""--Musharraf Ali Farooqi

“A work of rapturous imagination. On every page, Abbas took my breath away with her astonishingly vibrant images, which Rockwell re-creates with riveting immediacy in her stunning translation. What a joy to read a translation in which the translator and poet are so well matched in their talent and inventiveness.” - Idra Novey, judge, Wisconsin Prize for Poetry in Translation “Sometimes Abbas’s poems are weather warnings, sometimes bulletin boards from the bazaar, sometimes whispered admonitions. Some are, indeed, delicate curses, others are shouting matches; some are quiet prayers, others are howls of protest; and some are jokes so elaborate and heartfelt that you smile and clutch your heart at the same time.”- Mohammed Hanif “The vulnerabilities and anxieties of relationships are delicately and masterfully explored through a girl’s probing and foretelling vision. Abbas’s unique voice bridges the poetic and the mundane through a controlled expression.”- Musharraf Ali Farooqi

Author Information

Azra Abbas was born in 1950 in Kanpur, India, and emigrated to Karachi, Pakistan, as a child. She burst onto the contemporary Urdu poetry scene in 1981 with the publication of her book-length prose poem Sleep Journeys (nind ki musaafaten). Writing prose poetry was a daring choice at the time and her debut work was a fresh approach, heralding a new beginning in Urdu poetry. Azra's voice is undeniably the rawest within the Urdu feminist canon. Her unpretentious use of language and her effortless boldness make her poems startling, yet the depth of thought beneath the surface leaves the reader in a reflective mood. Azra has written seven collections of poetry, two memoirs, a collection of short stories, and a novel. She lives in Karachi and, after recovering from a long illness, continues to write poetry and compose a new novel. Daisy Rockwell is an artist, writer, and Hindi-Urdu translator living in Vermont. She has translated numerous classic and contemporary literary works from Hindi and Urdu into English. Her work has been awarded the International Booker Prize, the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation, the MLA Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Prize for Translation of a Literary Work, the Wisconsin Prize for Poetry in Translation, and the Vani Foundation Distinguished Translator Award. Her translations have been honored with grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and PEN Translates. She has written two novels, Taste and Alice Sees Ghosts, and her memoir, Our Friend, Art, is forthcoming from Pushkin Press in 2027.

Tab Content 6

Countries Available