Iftikhar Arif

Iftikhar Arif

BornIftikhar Hussain Arif
(1944-03-21) 21 March 1944 (age 80)
Lucknow, United Provinces, British India
OccupationUrdu poet
NationalityPakistani
Notable worksMehr-i-Doneem, Harf-i-Baryab, Jahan-e-Maloom, Kitab-i-Dil-o-Dunya
Notable awardsFaiz International Award (1988)
Waseeqa-e-Etraaf (1994)
Baba-e-Urdu Award (1995)
Naqoosh Award (1994)
Pride of Performance (1990)
Sitara-e-Imtiaz (1999)
Hilal-e-Imtiaz (2005)
Nishan-e-Imtiaz (2023)

Iftikhar Hussain Arif[a] (born 21 March 1944) is a Pakistani poet and litterateur of Urdu. His main theme is romantic Urdu poetry and he has headed the Pakistan Academy of Letters and the National Language Authority.[1][2]

Arif has received the Nishan-e-Imtiaz, Hilal-e-Imtiaz, Sitara-e-Imtiaz, and Presidential Pride of Performance awards, the highest literary awards given by the Government of Pakistan.[3]

Early life and career

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Iftikhar Arif was born on 21 March 1944 and attended the University of Lucknow, then studied journalism at New York University.[4] He then migrated to Karachi, Pakistan, where he was a newscaster for Radio Pakistan.[4] He then joined the Pakistan Television Corporation (Karachi Center) where he teamed up with Obaidullah Baig for the PTV program Kasauti.[1]

He spent the next thirteen years in England, until 1990, working for Urdu Markaz there.[5]

Achievements

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A couplet by Iftikhar Arif

Arif has published three poetry collections: Mehr-i-Doneem (1984), Harf-i-Baryab (1994)[5][1][6] and Jahan-e-Maloom.

Oxford University Press has published an anthology of his translated poetry, Written in the Season of Fear, with an introduction by Harris Khalique, a poet who writes in English, Urdu and Punjabi.[7]

Awards

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Bibliography

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  • Mehr-i-Doneem (1984)[5]
  • Harf-i-Baryab (1994)
  • Jahan-e-Maloom (2005)[5]
  • Shehr-e-Ilm ke derwazay per (2006)
  • Written in the Season of Fear (English translation)
  • The Twelfth Man (translation of Barhwan Khilari by Brenda Walker, 1989)
  • Kitab-e-Dil-o-Dunya (2009)[5]
  • Modern Poetry of Pakistan (2011)[10]

Notes

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  1. ^ Urdu: افتخار حسین عارف

References

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  1. ^ a b c Ashfaque Naqvi (24 May 2003). "A word about Iftikhar Arif (scroll down to read the second column)". Dawn (newspaper). Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  2. ^ "Cultural Pursuits: Urdu poet laments the decline of the language". The Express Tribune (newspaper). 23 December 2012. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  3. ^ Page:358 Jawaz-E-Iftikhar by Sheema Majeed, ISBN 969-530-131-2
  4. ^ a b "معروف و ممتاز شاعر افتخار عارف". akhbar-e-jehan.com.
  5. ^ a b c d e Rauf Parekh (6 December 2016). "Literary Notes: Persian translation of Iftikhar Arif's poetry: beautiful and faithful". Dawn (newspaper). Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  6. ^ Arif, Iftikhar (1994). HARF E BARYAB. Maktab-E-Danyal. p. 132. ISBN 969-419-016-9.
  7. ^ Arif, Iftikhar (2003). Written in the season of fear. Oxford University Press, Karachi Pakistan. p. 75. ISBN 978-0-19-579798-5.
  8. ^ Profile of Iftikhar Arif on rekhta.org website Retrieved 15 April 2019
  9. ^ a b Iftikhar Arif interview on Samaa TV website 17 November 2018, Retrieved 15 April 2019
  10. ^ Modern Poetry of Pakistan written by Iftikhar Arif, a book review on GoogleBooks website Retrieved 15 April 2019
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