Parveen Shakir

Parveen Shakir or Parvin Shakir (Urdu: پروین شاکر‎) (24 November 1952 – 26 December 1994) was an Urdu poet, teacher and a civil servant of the Government of Pakistan. Parveen Shakir started writing at a very young age, penning both prose and poetry, and contributing columns in Urdu newspapers, and a few articles in English dailies. Initially, she wrote under the pen-name, "Beena". Style of poetry :- Shakir employed mainly two forms of poetry in her work, one being the prevalent ghazal [plural: ghazalyaat], and the other being free verse (Urdu: Azaad nazm). The most prominent themes in Shakir's poetry are love, feminism, and social stigmas, though she occasionally wrote on other topics as well. Her work was often based on romanticism, exploring the concepts of love, beauty and their contradictions, and heavily integrated the use of metaphors, similes and personifications. Arguably, Shakir can be termed the first female poet to use the word larki (girl) in her works—the male-dominated Urdu poetry landscape at the time seldom employed that word, and used the masculine syntax when talking about the 'lover'. Similarly, she often made use of the Urdu first-person, feminine pronoun in her verses which, though extremely common in prose, was rarely used in poetry, even by female poets before her. Legacy :- Parveen Shakir's poetry was well-received, and after her untimely death she is now considered one of the best and "most prominent" modern poets Urdu language has ever produced. Hailed as a "great poetess," her poetry has drawn comparisons to that of Iranian poet Forough Farrokhzad, and she is considered among the breed of writers "regarded as pioneers in defying tradition by expressing the 'female experience' in Urdu poetry. A source states, "Parveen ... seems to have captured the best of Urdu verse ... Owing to [her] style and range of expressions one will be intrigued and ... entertained by some soul-stirring poetry." Another praises "her rhythmic flow and polished wording". Pakistan's noted literary figure Iftikhar Arif has praised Parveen Shakir for impressing "the young lot through her thematic variety and realistic poetry," for adding "a new dimension to the traditional theme of love by giving expression to her emotions in a simple and pellucid style," and using a "variety of words to convey different thoughts with varying intensities. The Delhi Recorder has stated that Shakir "has given the most beautiful female touch to Urdu poetry." Awards and recognition :- Shakir's first book, Khushboo, was awarded the Adamjee Literary Award in 1976. Later, she was awarded the Pride of Performance, one of Pakistan's highest honours in 1990. Upon her death, the Parveen Shakir Trust was established by her close friend, Parveen Qadir Agha. The Parveen Shakir Trust organises a yearly function and gives out the "Aks-e-Khushbu" award. The first substantial selection of Shakir's work translated into English was made by the poet Rehan Qayoom in 2011. Commemorative postage stamp In 2013, Pakistan Post Office issued a commemorative postage stamp of Rupees 10 denomination to honor her on Parveen Shakir's 19th death anniversary.