Agha Shahid Ali

Contemporary Ghazals No. 7 Agha Shahid Ali

Consisting primarily of expanded or revised versions, 'vault' material and "stray bastards", the 'posthumous' Contemporary Ghazals No. 7 (in the words of magazine founder and original editor R. W. Watkins) "represents the furthest one can take the ghazal form while still preserving the fundamental dynamics of its structure, if not always some semblance of its basic self". Hence the inclusion of such cutting-edge and often lengthy treatments of the form at the hands of such seasoned practitioners as Steffen Horstmann, Mike Alexander, David Raphael Israel and R. W. Watkins himself. Other familiar names found in this issue include Denver Butson, William Dennis, Barbara Little, Daniel Hales, Bill West and Red Slider. There is even a 'cut-up' of Agha Shahid Ali (1949-2001) ghazals as assembled and embellished by Watkins and Eugene Melino. The groundbreaking Contemporary Ghazals was discontinued as a regular publication in 2016, when Watkins chose to replace it with Eastern Structures, a magazine more inclusive of various other Asian poetic forms. But this double-length special issue-the second in a series of CG-related archival publications from Nocturnal Iris-is a not-so-subtle reminder of the earlier mag's devotion to form and a testament to its continued appeal.