Monthly Archives: December 2011

Ekphrastic Ghazals and More for December

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The December issue of The Ghazal Page is now online. You may access the index for the issue, through the main page, or the 2011 index. There are three pages this time, two presenting ghazals grouped loosely by theme and a third presenting two ekphrastic ghazals by David Jalajel. Ekphrastic poetry responds to a work of art; both artworks for these ghazals are reproduced with the poems, along with further information.

As announced on the main page, and in the information folder, I have slightly revised the submission policy and procedures. Submission for regular issues of The Ghazal Page in 2012 is open throughout the year; I will publish an issue when I have enough good ghazals, at least four and not more than eight or ten. Rather than quarterly, as in the last half of 2010 and all of 2011, issues will be published irregularly but, I hope, frequently.

The next challenge will be announced when the issue for the music challenge is published. It will involve art and especially ekphrastic ghazals; details will be in the announcement.

Challenges will have a set deadline for submissions. You may submit work for the current challenge before midnight on December 31. Use either the time zone in which you live or the Central Standard zone of the United States, whichever allows you the most time to get your submission to me.

I believe that 2011 has been a good year for The Ghazal Page and expect the same for 2012. Many thanks to the poets who have contributed their work!

Bird Song from Tashkent

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The Language of the Birds: International Poetry Anthology, Azam Abidov, editor. Tashkent, Uzbekistan: Takkafur, 2011. ISBN: 978-9943-372-41-2.

Recommended

This anthology follows the Fish and Snake anthology, reviewed here in 2009. Like the earlier anthology, The Language of the Birds presents poems both in their original language and in Uzbek. Languages in this anthology include Spanish, German, French, English, Uzbek, Turkish, and Polish. When the original is a language other than English or Uzbek, it is presented without English translation. The number of languages (and cultures) included and the manner of their inclusion make this a truly international anthology. There are poets from the US, Uzbekistan, Israel, Lebanon, Switzerland, Turkey, India, Hong Kong, Argentina, and others. The quality of the poems is high; the reader will find new and powerful voices within.

This note isn’t really a review, as I don’t consider it proper to review a book in which my work appears. I am privileged that five of my haiku appear in The Language of the Birds. They come from my collection of haiku, Nose to Nose, published by Brooks Books in 1998.

The anthology has a double dedication: to the 570th anniversary of Uzbek poet, Alisher Navoi, and to the 20th anniversary of Uzbekistan’s independence. In addition to Azam Abidov’s Foreword, there are two articles on Navoi: “Why Our World Needs Poets like Alisher Navoi,” by Gary Dyck, and “Navoi’s Blooming Garden,” by Tursunoy Sodiqova. Western readers are mostly familiar with Rumi and Hafiz. Knowing about Navoi will expand their (my!) literary world. More information and insight related to Navoi may be found at Navoi’s Garden.

The Language of the Birds also features portfolios reproducing paintings by two Uzbek artists, Gulnora Rahmon and Nodira Ibrohim. Both sets of paintings feature imagery of birds. The paintings not only are a fitting accompaniment to the poems but are worthwhile in their own right.

To close this note, I’m quoting the entirety of a short poem. Please understand that this poem represents the quality of the poems in The Language of the Birds and not their specifics of technique. The poems are quite varied in voice, form, style, and so on.

night poem
by Easterine Iralu

late last night
a bird, startled
fluttered out of the shrubs
and flew far from me

how like my heart
startled by love for you
fleeing from fear …

Easterline Iralu comes from Kohima, Nagaland, in north-east India; she now lives in Norway. While this poem reminds me of ancient Sanskrit love lyrics, its simplicity and directness of feeling are universal. This poem merely indicates the riches to be found in The Language of the Birds.

Ghazal Page Update

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Herewith some information on the current status of The Ghazal Page and changes coming for 2012.

The December solstice issue is coming together but will probably be published after the solstice. I hope it will appear by New Year’s Eve.

The music challenge is going well, and there are still a couple of weeks to submit ghazals for this challenge, which ends on 31 December. I will prepare the music challenge issue in January 2012, to be published about 1 February 2012. A new challenge will be issued then.

The Ghazal Page has published on a quarterly schedule for a year and a half. That will change in 2012. Issues will be published as enough publishable ghazals arrive. Each issue will have at least four ghazals and no more then ten. There will be as many issues as there are good ghazals.

The page with information on submitting ghazals will change to reflect the new policy, with that change published by the beginning of 2012.

There is a cluster of holidays this time of year. Whichever of them you celebrate, or if you celebrate no holidays at this time of year, may you know peace and joy.