Persian Poetics (2018-Present)
During my university studies, I noticed that many of my South Asian friends were interested in Persian poetry. Though they did not know Persian, their ancestors did, so the cultural resonances were passed down, even if the language was not. Furthermore, the degrees of similarity between Persian and South Asian languages like Urdu was another point of connection. I began to translate poems I liked here and there, hoping it would benefit my friends.
As I translate more poetry, I began to explore the existing translations of Persian poetry. I was shocked to find that many translations had taken too many liberties with the original text. I would later learn that the most famous translations of Persian poets are (very) liberal renderings at best or outright fabrications at worst, not translations in the literal sense.
I began to address this issue on various online platforms, but a thread I posted on my twitter feed caused this observation to go viral and spark a public conversation. An outpouring of support came to my previously obscure page, right as I graduated from university during the Covid lock-down. It felt like everything had fallen into place, so I decided to pursue the translation project full-time. My first book is forthcoming.
I always strive to strike a balance between preserving the literal meaning of a poem and producing a poetic translation, unlike popular translators who care neither for standards of poetry (rhyme or meter) nor the literal meaning of the original texts.