The Notes of a New Harp: Re-Carving the self in Contemporary Pakistani Poetry in English

Abstract

According to Taufiq Rafat, poetry emanates from the very land in which it is written. The cultural substratum that gives anchorage to its roots remains a viable source from which it gains nourishment and defines the Self of the poet. In Pakistan’s post-colonial spectrum, acculturation and the assimilation has generated poetry that presents the indigenous poetic traditions gelled with the traditions found in English poetry and a redefined notion of identity. This modified literary habitat features innovative verbal expressions as well as a vibrant cultivation of avant-garde modes of expression. Pakistani poetry in English offers a variety of ideas and influences, both indigenous and foreign to cosset and frolic with each other. These influences include the impact of the literary trends in Urdu; the pre- and post-Independence history and the contemporary politics of the country that have shaped its present and are continuing to chisel its future. This article aims at exploring the various patterns prevalent in Pakistani poetry in English. The author of this article would be analyzing some poems by eminent Pakistani poets including Taufiq Rafat, Alamgir Hashmi, Illona Yusuaf etc to highlight a cornucopia of patterns as well as the literary and cultural paradigms within which they develop.