DAWN - Books and Authors; April 27, 2008

April 27, 2008

Welcome to a generous selection of articles from DAWN's Weekly Books & Authors.
This page is updated every Sunday.
For current issue Click here

Master Will said it all Tom Stoppard is no ordinary playwright. He is, as the cliché goes, a living legend. When he set out to pen that ingenious screenplay, entitled Shakespeare in Love (starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Joseph Fiennes) he may have had, at least, a couple of things on his mind....		COVER STORY: Shakespeare’s Globe The Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre is situated by the Thames and can be accessed through footpaths along the river from the Waterloo Bridge and the Millennium Footbrige. However, if you are taking the Underground, as my sister and I did, you get off at the Waterloo station....

COVER STORY: Mass appeal I was recently flicking channels on TV when I saw a few scenes of a movie called A Knight’s Tale. It portrayed medieval sports, heraldry and revelry not in its usual interpretation, which is stiff, staid and somnolent, but as the mass entertainment spectacle of its time...		COVER STORY: Rest in peace ON this, the 392nd anniversary of Shakespeare’s death — and the 444th anniversary of his baptism, students, scholars and admirers will honour the playwright from Stratford-upon-Avon whose productions in London held monarchs and commoners alike in thrall.....

REVIEWS: The man-woman saga Men and women are different and will continue to be that way. Some of us thank God that we’re old enough to accept that and no longer waste time asking impossible questions such as: Why can’t we communicate soulfully? Why can’t he like the perfume that I like...		REVIEWS: Gender bender TO begin with, if you are unfamiliar with Hindu tradition and mythology, the complexity of the names and the fluid manner in which gender and sexuality are interlinked and narrated in The Pregnant King may catch you off guard. If there is one thing that this book...

REVIEWS: Behind the silver screen Urdu literature has a rich lineage of diverse authors whose writings have both entertained and infuriated generations but their readership has, nonetheless, been limited. For instance, these works have largely remained elusive for English readers due to the scarcity of translations....		REVIEW: Affairs of state Americans are an inward-looking people. This is despite the fact that the United States is now the only super power in the world and its successive governments, during the last several decades, have been trying to make a new world order of their own liking....

ARTICLE: A teardrop on the cheek of time The celebrated Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore allegorically referred to the Taj Mahal in one of his verses as ‘one teardrop, glistening spotlessly bright on the cheek of time.’ Classified as one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Taj is a testament to the eternal and enduring love....		AUTHOR: “PROF INAYAT ALI KHAN”: An exceptional poet While there are some seeds sown so deep beneath the soil that they cannot burgeon, there are those that emerge as true beacons of light, standing tall amidst the bellowing winds, awakening others through their thoughts, ideas, prose and poetry. Professor Inayat Ali Khan.....

REVIEW: Considering South Asia The book under review is an anthology published by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) on its ninth annual conference. The theme for the year — which is also the title of the book — is Missing Links in Sustainable Development: South Asian perspectives....		REVIEWS: Mysticism unfolded Like all eastern mystic poets, Shah Hussain, the great Punjabi poet, has many things in common with other mystic poets of the region. He loved humanity, composed poetry and is today remembered by hundreds of thousands for his message of love and philosophy....

At a glance The book under review is a political biography of an illustrious scion of the Shikarpuri Soomros. If biography is just a ‘written account or history of the life of an individual,’ this one fits the bill. But if biography is a well-researched, systematic, balanced and concise...		COLUMN: Images and illusions Feminsim is not Fatma Hasan’s only passion. Her devotion to Munir Niazi is another. This devotion seems to have increased after the passing away of the poet. It was in the first week of this month that she came to Lahore from Karachi, met Begum Munir....