British author urges following in Faiz’s footsteps

Alan Woods says he also draws inspiration from the revolutionary poet

LAHORE: In order to carry forward the struggle for a classless society, the youth should follow the footsteps of revolutionary poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz as I also drew inspiration from him, said prominent political theorist and author from Britain; Alan Woods.

He was delivering a lecture on Literature and Marxism late on Thursday night. The event was organised by the Progressive Youth Alliance (PYA) at Al-Hamara Hall.

"I am proud of Pakistan as it produced a revolutionary poet like Faiz Ahmed Faiz. You are the children of Faiz and you have to carry forward his struggle to denounce the evils of society,"

Woods said that poetry could not be translated. It is impossible. "Even if it is translated, its essence is lost. I used to read the original text of Faiz and Turkey's Nazim Hikmat and through their work, I drew inspiration to continue the struggle."

Literature and Marxism have played a significant role in the history and revolution of the world," he said.

Talking about European literature, he said that it is such a vast subject. “Literature is part of human race, like art, it is being practised since the beginning of the human being.

He discussed the role of many writers, including Shakespeare in European literature and presented his literary creations in different languages. He said that Homer's work was wonderful and the beginning of European poetry. "In the class society, the role and purpose of poetry have changed. It was written to praise kings. The poetry is mainly religious as all cultural activities are dominated by priests and churches."

"Today, we have access to mobile phones and have social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook, yet nobody memorises poems. There were times when people didn't even know how to write, but they used to memorise long poems like Maha Baharat.

He advised the youth to read reliable writings on Karl Marx. "Almost 99% of the books malign Marxism and the Karl Marx struggle."

Published in The Express Tribune, January 28^th, 2018.