Etching out grief: Anthology on APS massacre released
Collection highlights palpable heartbreak in wake of the attack.
Cover of a book comprising poems paying tribute to victims of the APS massacre. PHOTO: FILE
PESHAWAR:
A new anthology of poems pays tribute to victims of the Army Public School (APS) massacre.
The collection, titled Fizagano ki di sandy (Mourning in the air), was released by the Pakhtunkhwa Study Centre at Abdul Wali Khan University in Mardan. It has been edited by Asar Jan, a literary figure who is affiliated with the institute. Speaking to The Express Tribune, Jan said the collection includes poems written by renowned poets across the province.
The book comprises 53 poems—of which 52 are written in Pashto and one is written in English—which all highlight the gravity of grief left in the wake of the APS attack.
Although each poem depicts the memory of the attack, it also explores through powerful and emotional verse the constant tug of war which has left Pukhtuns in the lurch. A physical and personal battering which has continued for several decades.
“The APS attack is perhaps one of very few examples of a barbaric tragedy which left so many children dead,” said Humayun Huma, a former Urdu professor who is also a renowned poet. “Our nation cannot forget such a tragic incident.”
Barbaric attack
The poems in the collection strongly criticise the audacity with which a few militants destroyed the future of 132 children. Even though the poems have a common enemy, they strike an emotional chord through originality of style and thought-provoking imagery.
Israr Toru, a Pashto poet from Mardan, depicts these sentiments through the following verse:
The faith of our nation
that has already been surrounded
by the forces of darkness and ignorance,
why you are killing our innocent children
with whom we have associated our future?
There are also a number of poems which pay tribute to the people of Peshawar who have rendered sacrifices for years. Professor Salahuddin, another Pashto poet published in the anthology, has fleshed out this sacrificial spirit in the following verse:
The city of flower has been coloured
with the bloods of innocents,
there are sorrows and grief
that entrapped the heart of everyone in the city
Voice of reason
According to Huma, “poets are our voices of conscience” and every poet from across the country has written about APS massacre.
“This book is a historical document and a personal memoir of the emotional journey while coping with the tragedy,” he said. “This is the first-ever poetry compilation on the incident.”
“We can bring peace in society through our poems,” said Abdul Subhan, a poet whose work was also published in the collection. “As long as our youth have a pen in their hands, they will have the courage and determination to fight for peace in the country.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 2nd, 2015.
A new anthology of poems pays tribute to victims of the Army Public School (APS) massacre.
The collection, titled Fizagano ki di sandy (Mourning in the air), was released by the Pakhtunkhwa Study Centre at Abdul Wali Khan University in Mardan. It has been edited by Asar Jan, a literary figure who is affiliated with the institute. Speaking to The Express Tribune, Jan said the collection includes poems written by renowned poets across the province.
The book comprises 53 poems—of which 52 are written in Pashto and one is written in English—which all highlight the gravity of grief left in the wake of the APS attack.
Although each poem depicts the memory of the attack, it also explores through powerful and emotional verse the constant tug of war which has left Pukhtuns in the lurch. A physical and personal battering which has continued for several decades.
“The APS attack is perhaps one of very few examples of a barbaric tragedy which left so many children dead,” said Humayun Huma, a former Urdu professor who is also a renowned poet. “Our nation cannot forget such a tragic incident.”
Barbaric attack
The poems in the collection strongly criticise the audacity with which a few militants destroyed the future of 132 children. Even though the poems have a common enemy, they strike an emotional chord through originality of style and thought-provoking imagery.
Israr Toru, a Pashto poet from Mardan, depicts these sentiments through the following verse:
The faith of our nation
that has already been surrounded
by the forces of darkness and ignorance,
why you are killing our innocent children
with whom we have associated our future?
There are also a number of poems which pay tribute to the people of Peshawar who have rendered sacrifices for years. Professor Salahuddin, another Pashto poet published in the anthology, has fleshed out this sacrificial spirit in the following verse:
The city of flower has been coloured
with the bloods of innocents,
there are sorrows and grief
that entrapped the heart of everyone in the city
Voice of reason
According to Huma, “poets are our voices of conscience” and every poet from across the country has written about APS massacre.
“This book is a historical document and a personal memoir of the emotional journey while coping with the tragedy,” he said. “This is the first-ever poetry compilation on the incident.”
“We can bring peace in society through our poems,” said Abdul Subhan, a poet whose work was also published in the collection. “As long as our youth have a pen in their hands, they will have the courage and determination to fight for peace in the country.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 2nd, 2015.