Special issue of periodical Sahifa on Iftikhar Arif published

KARACHI: The Majlis-e-Taraqqi-e-Adab, Lahore, has published a special issue of its periodical ‘Sahifa’ on Iftikhar Arif. The special issue of Sahifa, which is a quarterly periodical, has been published in the book form after a year and hence it covers four issues and accordingly numbered 253-256.

The editorial board of the periodical under editor-in-chief Abbas Tabish and editor Arshad Naeem has compiled critical essays penned by prominent poets and critics from Pakistan, India and other countries about Arif’s poetry in the special issue. They include commentaries on specific books of the poet as well as pieces on his overall poetic craft and career.

The special issue of Sahifa also contains several interviews of Arif. At the end, it offers letters written by various luminaries to Arif in their own handwriting. Among the authors and poets whose critical pieces have been included in the book are Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Annemarie Schimmel, Mushtaq Ahmed Yousufi, Parveen Shakir, Asghar Nadeem Syed, Farman Fatehpuri, Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi, Prof Najeeb Jamal, Dr Gopi Chand Narang, Abul Khair Kashfi, Anees Ashfaq, Dr Tauseef Tabassum, Ahmad Javaid, Prof Mujtaba Hussain and Dr Najeeba Arif.

The literary, political and religious personalities whose letters to Arif have been published include Akhtarul Iman, Prof Fateh Muhammad Malik, Munawwar Hasan, Dr Javed Iqbal, Dr Rauf Parekh, Dr Moinuddin Aqeel, Kishwar Naheed, Qibla Ayaz, Mushfiq Khwaja, Shamsur Rahman Faruqi, Zafar Ishaq Ansari, Bano Qudsia, Mirza Adeeb and others.