South Asian Review (SAR) launched at Pakistan High Commission

 

The literary journal features over fifty contributors from Pakistan

 

The literary journal South Asian Review: Tracing the Tradition, Embracing the Emerging, creative writing special issue (31.3, 2010), was launched on 22 December 2011 at a ceremony hosted by Pakistan High Commissioner for UK Wajid Shamsul Hasan at the Pakistan High Commission, London.  The publication features over fifty contributors from Pakistan and the Diaspora.  The Review includes not only some of Pakistan’s major figures in the partition and post-partition period, now deceased, who adopted English as the language of their creative expression, but also some younger and emerging writers who are carving out a path for themselves overseas and at home.

 

Ms. Rukhsana Ahmad, a well-known novelist and playwright moderated the event and underlined the importance of literary discourse in the society.

 

The two Guest-Editors of the SAR Dr. Fawzia Afzal-Khan and Dr. Waseem Anwar introduced the volume and presented their works.  Dr. Afzal-Khan, Professor of English and University Distinguished Scholar at Montclair State University NJ, USA, where she also directs the Program in Women and Gender Studies is a trained vocalist.  She traveled all the way from the US to participate.  Dr Anwar, Dean of Humanities and Professor and Chair (English) at Forman Christian College (FCC) University, had especially come from Lahore for this event.  Both, Dr. Afzal-Khan and Dr. Anwar, made the critical introduction and summed-up for the collection alongside and read an interesting excerpt from Afzal-Khan’s co-authored play Jihad Against Violence.   Dr. Afzal-Khan then recited from her poem “For My Daughter’s Past, Cordoba” and enthralled with her recital of Bulhay Shah’s Kafi, while near the end Dr. Anwar recited his new poem “This Time in London” which was thoroughly enjoyed by the audience.

 

Contributing authors who presented their work included Aamina Naseer, Sabyn Javeri-Jilani, Rizwan Akhtar, Qaisra Shahraz, and Aamer Hussein.

 

The High Commissioner Wajid Shamsul Hasan lauded the efforts of the writers and said that he was delighted to have them here to talk about their experiences and work. He emphasized the need of holding more and more such events of cultural representation and exchange.

 

The South Asian Review (SAR) is a University of Pittsburgh (USA) publication, a refereed journal of the South Asian Literary Association, a representative international scholarly forum for the examination of South Asian Languages and Literatures in a broad cultural context.  It is published three times a year: the Special Topic issue (June/July); the Regular issue (October); and the Creative Writing issue (December).

 

Overall the journal welcomes analytical and critical articles on any aspect or period of South Asian literature--ancient, pre-colonial, colonial and postcolonial, while the following areas are of special interest: South Asian literatures and languages, South Asian cultural, transcultural, colonial and postcolonial studies, comparative literature and aesthetics, literary theories and film studies, and South Asian diasporic and women studies.

 

Dr Waseem Anwar’s recited poem “This Time in London” at the South Asian Review’s launch is placed below for the avid readers of poetry.  Author’s note at the end further illustrates its literary merits.

 

This Time in London

 

 

Last updated: 03 January 2012