allowing me the honor of being the translator of his poetry. For the past two years I have attempted to express his work with the sensitivity and care it deserves. I find his work insightful, passionate and honest. He is a man driven by his dreams. He seeks to find a perfection in life that can only live in dreams, but I respect his endless search for that perfection. When he speaks of his homeland and his people, one can feel the love and pain of this author. He knows the true meaning of devastation and loss. As witness to the suffering of his people, he speaks openly about it in his verse. One merely has to read his words to feel the pain. Though some of his images are quite graphic, it is my belief that it makes the reader more aware of the people’s plight. It is my hope the translations of his work will allow the world to share in the talent of this author….’
(Twist of Fates/ Alley Boling / p.10)
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‘In human history, voices of poets have been doing what swords of rulers failed to do. These voices, chanting ideas of universal nature and attempting at making a difference for the betterment of humanity, need to be acknowledged and conveyed to all.
I was fortunate, to hear one such voice, of Afzal Shauq through translated collection of his poems by Alley Boling. TWIST OF FATES had every thing to quench my thirst for good poetry and to satiate my search for splendidness of ideas.333 poems of the book had a variety of themes ranging from alacrity of romantic anecdotes to very serious concern for peace in the world; from quest for an ideal to promoting international brotherhood. Imbued with sincerity, each word,