Shaikh Ayaz is one of the major voices in twentieth century poetry. His literary career spanned almost six decades and displayed an amazing variety of poetry and prose, ranging from the traditional bait, wa’i and ghazal, to plays in verse, prose poems, and even musings, and extending to fiction, memoirs and journals, polemical and literary essays, newspaper articles and editorials. To each genre he brought his unique vision and transforming power of language.
This selection displays Shaikh Ayaz as a poet of the earth and the people, steeped in Folklore and traditions of the soil that nourished his imagination, and at the same time a thoroughly modern and consummate craftsmen whose work is delicate as the butterfly’s wing and powerful as the lion’s roar. These translations, rich and varied, are drawn from the poet’s life-work, recreating in the English language ‘the Voice of Sindh.’
