Domains of Fear and Desire: Urdu Stories

by Muhammad Umar Memon (Editor)

A collection of Urdu stories by some of the best and most renowned writers of the language today - including Abdulla Hussein, Qurratulain Hyder, Naiyer Masud and Khalida Husain - brought to the English reader in accuate, modern translations. With startling originality and breath-taking grace, they lead us into a world shaped by Islamic and Indian Subcontinental traditions, revealing an imagination hovering upon the mystical and the romantic, the traditional and the modern, the social and the political. Ultimately, these stories, which include some genuine masterpieces, testify to the depth of the human spirit as they reflect upon its mysteries.

264 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Muhammad Umar Memon is a critic, short story writer, renowned Urdu translator and editor of The Annual of Urdu Studies from Pakistan. He is Professor Emeritus of Urdu Literature and Islamic Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Dr. Memon was born in Aligarh, India in 1939. In 1954, his family moved to Karachi, Pakistan where he earned his bachelors and masters degrees. After his graduation, he taught at Sachal Sarmast College and Sind University. In 1964 he won a Fulbright scholarship to the United States. This move enabled him to earn a masters degree from Harvard University and eventually a doctorate in Islamic Studies from UCLA. Dr. Memon joined the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1970 and retired from there after 38 years of service. He has remained active as a scholar: besides working on translation of Urdu works into English he serves on the editorial board of Pakistaniaat: A Journal of Pakistan Studies and is also an advisor to the Urdu Project.