Khurram Shahzad

Voyager Khurram Shahzad

Voyager, a collection of poems by Khurrum Shahzad, so far is the most promising debut by a Pakistani poet writing in English. The collection has two parts, the first is called Darks and Dreams and the second A Tale of Love. The poet journeys between the real and the unreal, dream and reality, darkness and light to find out the truth. His desire to realize his dreams remains unfulfilled. Very much like the romantics, Shahzad's imagination takes him to strange lands of mystery and beauty; nevertheless, he comes back to the world of reality with his dreams intact. And the fear of their loss compels him to feel the significance of reality. The poems of first part are a rare combination of beauty and strangeness. Whereas the poems of second part, in fact, focus the relationship between art and life. Some of the poems of the Romantic Tales reflect his preoccupation with death which seems to inspire him value both, art and life. In this impressive first collection by a poet of tremendous potential and promise, Shahzad displays a unique care for poetic words. His images are taken from the world of romance and the world of material reality. He is conscious of both, the world of love and romance, and the world of absurd reality. Most of his poems are written in heroic couplets which links him with the Greek poets and the neo-classical poets of the 18th century England. He also sounds postmodernist with reference to his experiment with poetic diction. His book is a must read. Dr. Shahid Imtiaz