Ravishing DisUnities: Real Ghazals in English (Wesleyan Poetry Series)

This is a wonderful anthology with an informative Preface. The selections include poets who play with the form, who create astonishing ghazals that are recognizable as belonging to the form, and at the same time, deviate from the strict definition. Agha Shahid Ali is the leading writer of this form in America. He has selected some of the best ghazals for this anthology.Even readers who are not poets will be tempted to write their own ghazal.

His talent is unsurpassed

Here we have a compilation of ghazals, and of felicitous mutations of the ghazal, produced by English-speaking writers during the final years of the 20th century. We find these poems to be consistently engaging, of high quality, of considerable dexterity, and quite often of good humor. There are poets who are known to us (Marilyn Hacker, Colette Inez, Heather McHugh, David R. Slavitt, John Hollander, W S Merwin, and others); but many more are the voices we are encountering for the first time.There are ghazals here which look for the peace of Jerusalem (by Grace Schulman), which play with a misreading of a Heaney title ("The Red Dress of Poetry" by Daniel Hales), which tell us how to write the ghazal itself (Hollander's)! To this reviewer's mind, the form seems to lend itself more to the comic than to the tragic, more to the light-hearted than to the solemn. This tendency is seen in Shahid Ali's choices for this anthology.The preface by Shahid Ali contains a note on how to pronounce the word "ghazal" -- and memorably, a note on how NOT to pronounce the word! It contains an explanation of some of the terms associated with the ghazal: "qafia" (the rhyme word); "radif" (the refrain); and "makhta" (the signature couplet).As has been observed by other reviewers, there are times when the ghazals chosen for this book do depart a little from the "orthodox" form of the ghazal. Nonetheless, we can afford to be patient with these innovations, as they usually enhance the quality of the poem.Also recommended, and recommended quite highly: the collection of Agha Shahid Ali's own ghazals,  Call Me Ishmael Tonight: A Book of Ghazals .

I'm a great admirer of the editor's own poetry, particularly his ghazals. The introductory essay that begins this collection is extremely valuable to any student of this poetic form, which is not yet fully appreciated--or practiced--in the West. Prior to his far-too-early death, Ali was a great champion of the ghazal.The ghazals of the contributing poets are mixed in their level of success. None are unworthy of scrutiny.Sara Suleri Goodyear's afterword, and the editor's inclusion of a list of basic points that follows it, are also of value to anyone attempting to write poetry in this form.

in the classic way of english writers who decide to tackle foriegn forms, this book cops out on presenting "real" ghazals in english. instead what we have are a collection of poems that could possibly be called "psuedo-ghazals" ...the ghazal is a very beautiful and intricate form from an extremely rich culture and history; it should be respected as thus. this book, just from looking at the sample pages, shows me that this form has not been respected by its editor. ghazals have been written in english that can, in fact, be called ghazals and that conform to its highly rigid forms; the three ghazals presented in the samples do not show me a book that has attempted to find or solicit these ghazals or their authors.if shahid should put together another book of ghazals in english, it is my hope more time will be spent compiling real examples of the ghazal form...