Ghazal Cosmopolitan: The Culture and Craft of the Ghazal
A mix of essays, memoir, and original poems by Shadab Zeest Hashmi ’95.
Born in the Bedouin campsites of sixth-century Arabia, the ghazal might be the perfect poetic form to contain the homesick longing, cultural clashes, and surprise harmonies of today’s global community. Shadab Zeest Hashmi first encountered the form as a child in Pakistan, listening to popular Pakistani singers sing ghazals in Urdu on her parents’ LPs. Urdu, a mix of courtly Persian and folksy Hindavi, adopted the ghazal form early on. “The ghazal,” she write