 Poetry and Culture
On this page, you will find links to some literary and critical works in Dari and Pashto either in bilingual format or in translation only.
The Internet has provided a very useful medium for Afghan writers of many languages. I have no intention of duplicating these sites, even if I had the luxury to do so. What I can assure readers about is that no ethnic or ideological bias will affect my choices. I wish that could have been said about every site that has popped up in Dari and Pashto. Freedom comes with a heavy burden of responsibility. Many young Afghans, though, having just escaped an environment of social and political censorship, find it hard to employ any kind of self-censorship or ethical discipline.
My guidelines for choosing material will therefore be primarily aesthetic: originality of content, thickness of texture, complexity of relationships, richness of language, etc.
Undoubtedly, a culture like that of Afghanistan is extremely rich in classical poetry. For the purposes of this page, however, I will leave that area alone. In my Dari and Pashto site "AfghanPoetry.com," I do have some discussions of Bedil, Nizami, and the like. Over here, let me focus more on our own generation.
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O youthful mulberry
(Ay darakhtak e toot - Farsi version of Poem)
ای میفروش شام ay mai ferosh e sham (by Jonaid)
O youthful mulberry
(English approximation of the poem)
د لنډۍ په هکله څو ټکي –
A few points about the landei
(Pashto folk couplets)
Translation of points about the landei
د لاهو یو غزل
A poem by Noor Mohammad Lahoo
د باری جهانی یو غزل
A ghazal by Bari Jahani
د پیر محمد کاروان یو غزل
A ghazal by Pir Mohammad Karwan
د خوشحال خټک یو عشقی غزل
د خوشحال غزل د خبرو په هکله
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