Contemporary Poetics Forum organized a Seminar on “Becoming Iftikhar Arif: A Literary Journey”

Contemporary Poetics Forum, Department of English, Faculty of Languages and Literature, IIUI organised a Seminar with the collaboration of Literary Society of Pakistanon “Becoming Iftikhar Arif: A Literary Journey” on Tuesday, December 18, 2018. Iftikhar Arif is an Urdu poet and Pakistan’s leading intellectual. He has received the Hilal-e-Imtiaz, Sitara-e-Imtiaz and Presidential Pride of Performance awards. The introductory remarks and scholarly comments on Arif’s poetry were given by Mr. Farrukh Nadeem, Dr. Sadia Tahir, Dr. Aziz Ibnul Hassan, and Dr. Najeeba Arif, while Dr Muhammad Sheeraz Dasti presented his academic essay called “Silencing in Iftikhar Arif’s Poetry”,which showed how a new theory of silencing emerges out of Iftikhar Arif’s poetry adding a new dimension to resistance literature.
Mr. Iftikhar Arif began his talk by recounting his childhood days. He discussed about the early years of his life as lived in the city of Lucknow, the city that keeps and celebrates the great tradition of Urdu literature. He also talked about his close connection with some of the greatest Pakistani and foreign poets and writers. Mr. Arif also recalled the days when he decided to move to Pakistan in 1965. He also talked about his journey on radio and television in Pakistan. He said that he left the field of media because he wanted to be remembered as a poet not as a media person. He said that he worked hard to sail through his literary journey. He added, “A poet’s work must tell others about the personality of that poet.” He also highlighted the importance of one’s own language and that of having pride in it. He said, “If I get another life in this world, I would again like to be born as a poet and I would like to write on the same topics and themes.” In the end, he presented his poetry and the audience appreciated his work greatly. Towards the end of the program, a documentary called “Iftikhar Arif: The Pride of the Wise” was screened.

The seminar was attended by the faculty members and many students of both Urdu and English departments of male and female campuses. Dr. Sheeraz along with Dr. Najeeba Arif, Mr. Farrukh Nadeem, Dr. Aziz Ibnul Hassan and Dr. Sadia Tahir presented a shield to Mr. Iftikhar Arif as a token of gratitude on the behalf of Contemporary Poetics Forum, and the Department of English. The event was moderated by Mr. Mahmood ul Hassan (Coordinator CPF).