It's fitting that while the U.S. military strikes a blow for global justice and responsibility, Gibbs Smith Publishers would decide to strike a blow for global literature and understanding.

"The Rebel's Silhouette" is a selection of poems from the late Indian poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz, a writer so loved that readers could get a letter to him in Pakistan by simply writing "Faiz, Pakistan" on the envelope.By reading both the newspaper headlines and the "news of the heart" found in the work of Faiz, Americans can find some fresh and perhaps needed perspective on the people of other cultures.

Faiz (pronounced "Fez") was motivated to write by both romantic love and leftist political philosophy, but - as Agha Sha-hid Ali says in his introduction - his genius lay in a talent for writing about each without cliche, slogan or compromise, and writing about them in the same poem.

This, for instance, from "A Prison Evening":Faiz has been brought into English here by a young man many Utahns know simply as "Shahid." If you spent any time at the Writers at Work Conference in Park City during the '80s, you likely saw him hovering about the seminars and panel discussions. Currently he teaches at Hamilton College. Shahid's simple, self-effacing style can be found in these translations.

View Comments

As a special touch, Christopher Merrill - editor of the Peregrine Smith Poetry Series - has included the poems of Faiz in the original script.

Join the Conversation
Looking for comments?
Find comments in their new home! Click the buttons at the top or within the article to view them — or use the button below for quick access.