The Collected Poems of Shahid Suhrawardy

Shahid Suhrawardy (1890-1965) was a remarkable polymath, and his collected verse is finally gathered in one volume, 'The Collected Poems of Shahid Suhrawardy'. The book brings together his two poetry collections alongside his collaborative translations from Chinese. Suhrawardy began writing in the Edwardian style but quickly evolved into a modernist voice, becoming one of the first modern poets of the South Asian subcontinent and an early figure in English-language modernism.

His life spanned continents, from witnessing the Russian Revolution to the fall of Paris and the Partition of India. Kaiser Haq's introduction offers the first comprehensive biography and critical assessment of this long-neglected poet. Readers can trace Suhrawardy's development from the late Romantic juvenilia of 'Faded Leaves' through the symbolist and ironic modernism of 'Essays in Verse' to the crisp imagistic translations of Lee Hou-Chu. His distinctive mock-comic persona, a blend of Prufrock and an aging hedonist, sets him apart among modern poets. This volume should help restore the recognition he deserves.