Afzal Ahmed Syed

Who is Afzal Ahmed Syed?

Afzal Ahmed Syed is a contemporary Urdu poet and translator, known for his mastery of both classical and modern Urdu poetic expression.

Born in Ghazipur, India, in 1946, Afzal Ahmed Syed has lived since 1976 in Karachi, Pakistan, where he works as an entomologist. He is the author of the modern nazm collections چھينی ہوئ تاريخ, دو زبانوں ميں سزاۓ موت, and روکوکو اور دوسری دنيائيں. Another collection of classical ghazals is titled خيمہُ سياہ.

Syed’s poetry was anthologized in An Evening of Caged Beasts: Seven Postmodernist Urdu Poets. The Wesleyan University Press Poetry Series has published a selection of Syed's poetry in translation, titled Rococo and Other Worlds in 2010, which features poetry from his three Urdu nazm collections.

Syed has translated a wide and important body of works by contemporary poets, playwrights and novelists. He was the one of the first Urdu translators of Gabriel García Márquez and Jean Genet. His work has been widely published in leading Urdu literary periodicals such as Shabkhoon, Aaj, and Dunyazad.