Urdu Poetry in English Translation: A Bibliography (Updated: June 2020)
A
Ahmed, Tehmina. On the Outside: Poems of Zeeshan Sahil. Karachi: City Press, 2006.
Ahmad, Aijaz (ed.) Ghazals of Ghalib. New York: Columbia University Press, 1971.
Ahmad, Riaz. Ghalib: Interpretations. Rawalpindi: Ferozsons, 1996.
____________. Noom Meem Rashed’s Hasan the Pot Maker and Other Poems. Lahore: Ferozsons, 2000.
Ahmad, Rukhsana. We Sinful Women: Contemporary Urdu Feminist Poetry. New Delhi: Rupa & Co, 1994.
Ahmer, Yunus. Farigh’s Poems: Songs of Love and Struggle. Lahore: Khalid Academy, 1982.
Allana, G. Presenting Pakistani Poetry. Karachi: Pakistani Writers Guild, 1961.
Ali, Agha Shahid. Rebel’s Silhouette: Selected Poems: Faiz Ahmad Faiz. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1992.
Ali, Ahmad. The Golden Tradition: An Anthology of Urdu Poetry. Columbia: University Press, 1973.
Anand, Satypal. Mild and Yellow (Poems of Wazir Agha). Hendon USA: Translator, 1996.
Anonymous. Musaddas-e-Hali. Karachi: Peermahomed Ebrahim Trust, 1975.
Arberry, A. J. Complaint and Answer (Iqbal’s “Shikwah” and “Jawab-e-Shikwah”). Lahore: Sh. Muhammad Ashraf Publisher, 1955.
Arif, Iftikhar and Waqas Khwaja. Modern Poetry of Pakistan. US: Dalkey Archive Press, 2010.
Azam, Ikram. Poems by Faiz. Rawalpindi: Nairang-e-Khayal Publications, 1982.
Azhar, Jamil and Mushtaq Qamar (eds.) Selected Poems of Wazir Agha. Sargodha: Maktaba Urdu Zaban, nd.
B
Bakht, Baidar and Kathleen Grant Jaeger. An Anthology of Modern Urdu Poetry, Vol. 1. Delhi: Educational Publishing House, 1985.
____________ and Derek M. Cohen. The Price of Looking Back: Selected Poems of KishwarNaheed. Lahore: Book Traders, 1987.
____________ and Leslie Lavigne. Selected Poems of Balraj Komal. Delhi: Educational Publishing House, 1989.
____________ and Leslie Lavigne. The Gateway to Dreams is Closed (Poems of Shahrayar). New Delhi: Sahitya Akademy, 1990.
____________ , Leslie Lavigne and Kathleen Grant Jaeger. Taking Stock: Selected Poems of Akhtar-ul-Iman. Lahore: Sang-e-Meel Publications, 1991.
____________ and Leslie Lavigne. In the Last Days of Autumn (Poems of Amjad Islam Amjad). Lahore: Sang-e-Meel Publications, 1991.
____________, Derek M. Cohen and Leslie Lavigne. The Scream of an Illegitimate Voice (Poems of Kishwar Naheed). Lahore: Sang-e-Meel Publications, 1991.
____________. A Lamp in a Desolate House (Poems of Gopal Mittal). New Delhi: Modern Publishing House, 1995.
____________ and Leslie Lavigne. Talking to Oneself (Poems of Perveen Shakir). Islamabad: Murad Publications, 1995.
____________ , Perveen Shakir and Leslie Lavigne. Selected Poems of Ahmad Nadeem Qasimi. Islamabad: Pakistan Academy of Letters, 1995.
____________, Leslie Lavigne and Kathleen Grant Jaeger. The Query of the Road (Poems of Akhtar-ul-Iman with extensive commentary). New Delhi: Rupa & Co. 1996.
____________ and Marie-Anne Erki. Destination Beyond Destination (Ghazals and Dohas of Jamiluddin Aali). Karachi: Pakistan Writers’ Co-operative Society, 1997.
____________and Marie-Anne Erki. Never Mind Your Chains (Ghazals and couplets of Majrooh Sultanpuri). New Delhi: Rupa & Co., 1999.
____________ and Kathleen Grant Jaeger. My Journey, Selected Poems of Sardar Jafri. New Delhi: Sterling Publishers, 1999.
____________ and Leslie Lavigne. The Colour of Black Flowers, Selected Poetry of Shamsur Rahman Faruqi. Karachi: City Press, 2002.
____________ and Marie-Anne Erki. Calm under the Whirlpool (Dohas of Jamiluddin Aali). Karachi: Pakistan Writers’ Co-operative, 2005.
____________ and Marie-Anne Erki. The Wind Knocks and Other Poems (Poems of Mohammad Alvi), New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi, 2007.
____________ and Marie-Anne Erki. Selected Poetry of Shahryar. New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi, 2010.
____________ and Marie-Anne Erki. Shifting Sands (Poems of Amjad Islam Amjad). Lahore: Packages, 2010.
____________. Selected Poems of Shahid Mahuli, Delhi: Meyar Publications, Delhi, 2012.
____________. Pearls from the Ocean (Poems of Parvin Shere) Bangalore: All India Urdu Munch, 2014.
____________. The Ocean Searches for Me: Selected Poems of Ashfaq Hussain. Karachi: Pakistan Study Circle, 2014.
Bandopadhyay, Pranab. Hundred Ghazals of Mirza Ghalib. Calcutta: United Writers, 1975.
Bhatti, S. S. Contemporary Urdu Poetry (Poetry from Punjab). New Delhi: Siddharth Publications, 2004.
Biswas, Bina. A Man Outside History: The Poems of Naseer Ahmed Nasir. New Delhi: Lifi Publications, 2014.
Bly, Robert and Sunil Dutta. Lightening Should Have Fallen on Ghalib: Selected Poems of Ghalib. Hopwell, NJ: Ecco Press, 1999.
Bosley, K. (ed.). The Elek Book of Oriental Verse (Urdu section edited and translated by David Matthews and Peter Dent). London: Paul Elek, 1979.
C
Chufla, Roshan. Mirza Ghalib in English Verse. Mumbai: Classic Printers, 2004.
D
Das, J. P. Autumn Moon (Poems of Gulzar). New Delhi: Rupa & Co., 1999.
Dehlvi, Amar (Comp.). Masterpieces of Urdu Poetry: Selected Poems of Seven Eminent Urdu Poets. New Delhi: Star Publications. 2009.
F
Farooqi, Baran. The Colours of My Heart: Selected Poems. New Delhi: Penguin Books, 2017.
Farooqi, Musharraf Ali. Rococo and Other Worlds. Middletown: Wesleyan University Press, 2010.
Farrukhi, Asif and Frances Pritchett. An Evening of Caged Beasts: Seven Postmodernist Urdu Poets. Karachi: OUP, 1999.
____________ and Salman Tarik Kureshi. A Cry in the Wilderness. (Poems of Muneer Niazi) Karachi: OUP, 2002
____________ (ed). The Distance of a Shout (Poems by Kishwar Naheed). Karachi: Oxford University Press, 2004.
G
Ghalib Institute. Whispers of the Angel. Selections from Fourteen English Translations of Ghalib. New Delhi: Ghalib Academy, 1969.
Gilani, Saleem. The Grey Void (Poetry of Zia Jalandhari). Islamabad, National Book Foundation, 1992.
H
Habib, M. A. R. The Dissident Voice: Poems of N. M. Rashid. Madras: Oxford University Press, 1993.
Habib. M. A. R. An Anthology of Modern Urdu Poetry. New York: MLA, 2003.
Hameed, Syeda Saiyidain. Mussaddas-e-Hali :Ebb and Tide in Islam. New Delhi: Harper Collins, 2003.
Hameed, Yasmeen. Voyages of Sleep: Poetry of Azra Abbas. Karachi: Pakistan Association for Women’s Studies, 1998.
Hameed, Yasmeen. Pakistani Urdu Verse: An Anthology. Karachi: OUP, 2010.
Hasan, Noorul. Meena Kumari: The Poet. New Delhi: Roli Books, 2014.
Haq, Mahbub-ul. An Elusive Dawn: Selections from the Poetry of Faiz Ahmad Faiz. Islamabad: Pakistan’s National Commission for Unesco, 1987.
Hasani, Mahmudul, et al.. Sessions of Sweet Silent Thoughts: Selected Poems of Parveen Shakir. New Delhi: Arshia Publications, 2010.
Hashmi, Shoaib. A Song for This Day: 52 Poems by Faiz Ahmad Faiz. Lahore: Sang-e Meel Publications, 2009.
Husain, Yusuf. Urdu Ghazals of Ghalib. New Delhi: Ghalib Institute, 1977.
I
Issar, T. P. Ghalib. Self Published, 2004.
J
Jaeger, Kathleen Grant and Baidar Bakht, (ed. and trans). An Anthology of Modern Urdu Poetry Volume I. New Delhi: Educational Publishing House, 1984.
Jafri, Ali Sardar and Qurratulain Hyder. Ghalib: His Life and Poetry. New Delhi: Sterling Paperbacks, 2002.
Jalil, Rakhshanda. Through the Closed Doorway: A Collection of Nazms by Shaharyar. New Delhi: Rupa, 2004.
____________. Shafaq Ke Rung (Poems of Indira Varma). Place not mentioned: IV Associates Pvt. Ltd., 2007.
Jamal, Mahmood. The Penguin Book of Modern Urdu Poetry. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1986.
____________ . Faiz: Fifty Poems. Karachi: OUP: 2013.
Johari, Prema. Renderings from Ghalib. New Delhi: Ghalib Institute, 1996.
Joshi, Umesh. Ashaar of Ghalib and 25 Masters. New Delhi: Rupa & Co. 1995.
K
Kamal, Daud. The Unicorn and the Dancing Girl. Karachi: Pakistan Publishing House, 1984.
____________. Four Contemporary Poets. Islamabad: National Book Foundation, 1992.
____________. Flowers on a Grave: Poems from Ahmad Nadeem Qasimi. Karachi: OUP, 2008.
Kanda, K. C. Masterpieces of Urdu Ghazal. New Delhi: Sterling Publishers. 1990.
____________. Masterpieces of Urdu Rubaiyat. New Delhi: Sterling Paperback. 1995.
____________. Masterpieces of Urdu Nazm. New Delhi: Sterling Publishers. 1996.
____________. Urdu Ghazal: An Anthology from 16th to 20th Century. New Delhi: Sterling Publishers. 1998.
____________. M asterpieces of Urdu Poetry. New Delhi: Sterling Publishers. 2001.
____________. Mirza Ghalib: Selected Lyrics and Letters. New Delhi: Sterling Publishers, 2004.
____________. Bahadur Shah Zafar and His Contemporaries. New Delhi: Sterling Paperbacks. 2007.
____________. Glimpses of Urdu Poetry. New Delhi: Lotus Press. 2007.
_____________. Masterpieces of Humourous Urdu Poetry. New Delhi: Sterling Publishers, 2010.
____________. Firaq Gorakhpuri: Selected Poetry. New Delhi: Sterling Publishers, 2010.
Kaul, J. L. Interpretations of Ghalib. Delhi: Atma Ram & Sons, 1957.
Kejriwal, O. P. Ghalib in Translation. New Delhi: UBSPD, 2002.
Khalique, Harris. Written in the Season of Fear: Poetry by Iftekhar Arif. Karachi: OUP. 2003.
Khan, Nuzhat Yar. Dreams and Destinations: Shaheen and His Poetry. Ottawa: Canada-Pakistan Association, 1986.
Kiernan, V. G. Poems from Iqbal. London: Oxford University Press, 1955.
Kiernan, V. G. Poems by Faiz. London : George Allen & Unwin, 1971.
Komal, Balraj. A Sky Full of Birds. New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi, 1992.
Kumar, Ish. The Melody of an Angel, Ghalib. Chandigarh: Panjab University, 1982.
Kumar, Shiv. K. Selected Poems of Faiz Ahmad Faiz. Viking Penguin India, 1995.
____________. The Best of Faiz. New Delhi: UBS Publishers’ Distributors Ltd., 2001.
L
Lal, P. Ghalib’s Love Poems. Calcutta: Writers Workshop, 1971.
Lazard, Naomi. The True Subject: Selected Poems of Faiz Ahmad Faiz. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1988.
M
Mahmood, Khwaja Tariq. Ghalib and Iqbal: Rhymed Translations of Selected Ghazals. Lahore: Bazm-e-Ilm-o-Funn, 1995.
____________. Selections from Diwan-e-Ghalib. New Delhi: Star Publications, 2000.
____________. Selected Poems of Sahir Ludhianavi. New Delhi: Star Publications 2002.
____________. Selected Poems of Faiz Ahmed Faiz. New Delhi: Star Publications, 2002.
____________. Selected Poems of Bahadur Shah Zafar. New Delhi: Star Publications, 2003.
____________. Selected Poems of Shakeel Badayuni. New Delhi: Star Publications, 2007.
____________. Selected Poetry of Josh Malihabadi. New Delhi: Star Publications, 2007.
____________. Selected Poetry of Qateel Shafai. New Delhi: Star Publications, 2007.
____________. Poetry of Allama Iqbal. New Delhi: Star Publications, 2007.
____________. Selected Urdu Poetry of Women Poets. New Delhi: Star Publications, 2008.
____________. Selected Ghazals: Muzaffar Hanfi. Delhi: Arshia Publications, 2013.
Matthews D. J. and C. Schackle. An Anthology of Classical Urdu Love Lyrics. London: OUP, 1972.
Matthews, D. J. Iqbal: A Selection of the Urdu Verse. London: School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, 1993.
_____________. The Battle of Karbala: A Marsiya of Anis. New Delhi: Rupa & Co., 1994.
_____________. An Anthology of Urdu Verse in English. Bombay: OUP, 1995.
_____________. Quiver (Poems and ghazals of Javed Akhtar). New Delhi: HarperCollins, 2001.
Mir, Mustansir. Tulips in the Desert: A Selection from Iqbal’s Poetry. McGill-Queen;s University Press, 2000.
Mir, Raza. The Taste of Words: An Introduction to Urdu Poetry. Penguin, 2014.
Mirza, Yaqub. Translation of the Selected Verses of Ghalib’s Urdu Ghazals. New Delhi: Ghalib Institute, 1992.
Mukherjee, Samir. A Fairy in the Goblet: Selected Urdu Poems of Fay Seen Ejaz. Kolkata: Insha Publications, 2009.
N
Nagi, Anis. Modern Urdu Poems from Pakistan. Lahore: Jamaliat, 1984.
Naim, C. M. Twenty Five Verses by Ghalib. Calcutta: Writers Workshop, 1971.
____________. Ghalib’s Lighter Verses. Calcutta: Writers Workshop, 1971.
Niazi, Sarfaraz K. Love Sonnets of Ghalib. New Delhi: Rupa & Co. 2002.
Noori, Fakhrul Haq. Noom Meem Rashid ki Nazmon ke English Tarajim. Faisalabad: Misaal Publishers, 2013.
P
Parihar, Bhupender. The Silken Knot: Ghazals of Prem Kumar Nazar. Calcutta: Writers Workshop, 1994.
Pritchett, Frances W. A Listening Game (Poems of Saqi Farooqui).London: Lokmaya Press, 1987.
____________ and Asif Farrukhi. An evening of Caged Beasts: Seven Postmodernist Urdu Poets. Karachi: OUP, 1999.
Q
Qasmi, Tariq Masoud. Love Encompasses All: Poetry by Amjad Islam Amjad. Lahore: Iqbal Academy Pakistan, 2006.
Qureshi, M. H. K. An Anthology of Modern Urdu Poetry. Toronto: Urdu Society of Canada. 1988.
Qureshi, M. H. K. Selected Poetry of Ahmad Faraz. New Delhi: Star Publications Pvt. Ltd., 2004.
R
Rahman, Anisur. Fire and the Rose: An Anthology of Modern Urdu Poetry. New Delhi: Rupa & Co., 1995.
Rahman, Anisur. Hazaaron Khwahishein Aisi:The Wonderful World of Urdu Ghazals. New Delhi: HarperCollins, 2019.
Rahman, Sarvat. 100 Poems by Faiz Ahmad Faiz. New Delhi: Abhinav Publications, 2002.
____________. Diwan-e-Ghalib: Complete Translations into English. New Delhi: Ghalib Institute, 2003.
____________. Mirza Ghalib: 100 Famous Ghazals. New Delhi: Abhinav Publications, 2011.
Rahmatullah, S. Hundred Gems from Ghalib. Islamabad: National Book Foundation, 1980.
Russell, Ralph and Khursheedul Islam. Three Mughal Poets: Mir, Sauda, Mir Hasan. London: Allen and Unwin, 1969.
Russell, Ralph. Hidden in the Lute. An Anthology of Two Centuries of Urdu Literature. London: Carcanet, 1995.
____________. The Famous Ghalib. New Delhi: Roli Books, 2000.
____________. The Seeing Eye: Selections from the Urdu and Persian Ghazals of Ghalib. Islamabad: Alhamra. 2003.
____________. The Oxford India Ghalib: Life, Letters and Ghazals. New Delhi: OUP, 2004
S
Safdar, Suhail. The Poetical Works of Muneer Niazi: Slected English Translations. Lahore: Pakistan writings, 1996.
Salil, Kuldip. Diwan-e-Ghalib. Delhi: Rajpal and Sons. 2008.
____________. Great Urdu Ghazals. New Delhi: Hind Pocket Books Pvt. Ltd. 2011.
____________. Best of Faraz. Delhi: Rajpal and Sons, 2012
____________. Best of Iqbal. Delhi: Rajpal and Sons, 2012
____________. Best of Faiz. Delhi: Rajpal and Sons, 2013
____________. Best of Meer. Delhi: Rajpal and Sons. 2013
____________. A Treasury of Urdu Poetry. New Delhi: Rajpal and Sons, 2014.
Saraf, Sanjiv. Nava-e-Sarosh: Voices from Beyond (Delhi Masters Rendered in Rhyme), Delhi: PenguinBooks, 2019.
Shackle, Christopher and Javed Majeed. Hali’s Musaddas: The Flow and Ebb of Islam: New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1997.
Shah, Syed Akbar Ali. Gabriel’s Wings (translations from Iqbal). Islamabad: Modern Book Depot, 1979.
Sharma, Rajesh. A Collection of Most Quotable Urdu Couplets. Self Published, 2004.
____________. A Collection of Simplest and Most Potent Urdu Ghazals. Self Published, 2007.
____________. A Treasure Trove of Urdu Couplets. New Delhi: Vani Prakashan, 2010.
Sharpe, Patricia L., Rukhsana Ahmed and Baidar Bakht. Four Walls and Black Veil: Urdu Poems with English Translations (Poems of Fahmida Riaz). Karachi: Oxford University Press, 2004.
Shekhar, Sunjoy. 100 Lyrics (Poems of Gulzar). New Delhi: Penguin, 2009.
Siddiqui, Faisal, Christopher Kennedy and Mi Ditmar. Light and Heavy Things: Selected Poems by Zeeshan Sahil. Rochester, New York: BOA Editions, 2013.
Singh, Khushwant. Shikwa and Jawab-i-Shikwa: Complaint and Answer: Iqbal’s Dialogue with Allah. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1981.
____________. Celebrating the Best of Urdu Poetry. New Delhi: Penguin Books.1989.
Sucha, Sain. Sahir by Sain. Sweden: Vudya Kitaban Forlog, 1989.
Sud, K. N. Selections from Ghalib and Iqbal. New Delhi: Sterling Publishers, 1978.
V
Varma, Pawan K. Selected Poems: Kaifi Azmi. New Delhi: Viking India, 2001.
____________. Selected Poems: Gulzar. New Delhi: Penguin, 2012.
Verma, Rajinder Singh. Flowers in Flames: Poems of Himayat Ali Shair. Karachi: Al-Musannefeen, 1985.
____________. Wazir Agha: Half a Century Later. Lahore: West Pakistan Urdu Academy, 1989.
____________. Every Word Aglow (Poems of Himayat Ali Shair). Karachi: Dunya-i-Adab, 1993.
____________. Pick of Mir. Lahore: Urdu Academy Pakistan, 1999.
W
Walker, Brenda. The Twelfth Man: Poems of Iftikhar Arif. London: Forest Books, 1989.
Z
Zakir, Mohammad. Distracting Words (Select Urdu and Persian couplets by Ghalib) Delhi: Idara-e-Amini, 1976..
____________. Poems of N. M. Rashed. New Delhi: M D Publications, 1995.
____________ and M. N. Meenai. Poems of Faiz Ahmad Faiz. New Delhi: M D Publications 1995.