The Taste of Words: An Introduction to Urdu Poetry

My father bought this book last year and I took it along as a light read on a recent trip. And boy, was I glad I did! I must start though, by sating that if you're into Urdu shayari deeply, this book does not have much to offer you. You would already know the life and times of most Urdu poets and would be well versed in their celebrated works. At most, you might come across a few, lesser known poets and maybe enjoy their works. As an introduction to Urdu poetry however, this book is invaluable. It is not dense, or technical nor hard to understand. The language is accessible, the translations lucid, the style of writing engaging and personable. Every poet in the book gets a short introduction, with maybe a delightful little anecdote thrown in. The ghazals are chosen with care, and while they might not always be the most famous or best known creations of the authors, do serve to highlight the poet's style and method of expression. The Taste of Words is written entirely in English, even the original verse is presented in the English script. The book is oriented to a reader with little to no understanding of the genre and maybe even the language, and the choice of script emphasizes this. The Taste of Words is a wonderful entryway into the glorious world of Urdu shayari. If you are intrigued by this art and have always felt overawed by the difficult language, the convoluted idioms, the ornate phraseology, and the even more obscure translations you have come across in other books, this is the book for you. And if after reading this book, you are still not fascinated with Urdu shayari, you can safely conclude that Urdu shayari and you aren't meant to be. :)

Good introduction into urdu poetry, but very superficial. I thought, the poems would be explained word by word but the author simply introduces the Reader to the poet and the historical setting. So you shouldnt be exspecting too much. The Poems are not Printed in urdu Script ,which makes it easy for those who have difficulties reading the arabic script/only know devnagari. The Book has a broad collection of poems, classical and Contemporary

Great book, ancora imparo, on a much neglected most noble language by an author whose approach exemplifies the most liberal & progressive spirit.

A good book especially for beginners. The books starts with a short introduction to urdu poetry. Then, in chronological order starting from Amir Khusrau, some of the selected poems of many great poets are translated to English. In addition, a brief biography is given for each poet which makes an interesting read. The best part of the book is that for almost each poem the author recommends a popular rendition which can easily be found on YouTube.

This is a great book for beginners who do not understand the Urdu script but understand the language to an extent (Hindi speakers included). Raza Mir introduces about 50 Urdu poets through the ages from Amir Khusro through Mir, Ghalib, Iqbal etc to the modern Urdu poets who have written for the Indian film industry. But such a long list also means that the author is only able to include 2 or 3 poems of each poet and sometimes just 1. Raza's translations are good and often poetic. For those whose only exposure to Urdu poetry is through the film industry, Raza does include references to movies and songs which are either full renditions of that poem or where parts of the poem are used. I have also reviewed the book in more detail on my YouTube channel in case you wish to see a deeper review.