Love Poems

by Imtiaz Dharker (Editor/Introduction), Mikki Lee (Illustrator)

Author of six books, acclaimed British poet, artist and filmmaker Imtiaz Dharker is fondly referred to as the "world poet laureate," such is her global renown. For this exclusive new Folio Society anthology of more than 150 poems, Dharker researched and collected the work of ancient and contemporary voices from around the world, both widely and lesser known. Traversing culture, language and time, Love Poems is a wonderfully eclectic selection of emotive human responses to love through the medium of poetry, from Rumi, Shakespeare and Christina Rosetti to Philip Larkin, Michael Ondaatje and Carol Ann Duffy. Korean-American illustrator and designer Mikki Lee won the prestigious Book Illustration Competition (a collaboration between The Folio Society and House of Illustration). Here, she celebrates the cultural diversity of the collection through a series of highly stylized and dreamlike artworks, while a metallic blocked-cloth binding, textured Cloud Dragon paper endpapers, stunning blocked slipcase and twin ribbon markers complete this beautiful edition, perfect for gifting or adding to your own collection.

LOVE ACROSS LANGUAGE AND TIME

From tempestuous and passionate to subtle and pensive, the wide-ranging voices and experiences in Love Poems will resonate with readers of all ages. Dharker has skillfully woven a narrative through her selection, with poems loosely grouped around themes rather than arranged according to geography or timeline. The ebb and flow of style, length, era and language is refreshing and fluid, as love is portrayed in myriad ways. There are chance encounters in Walt Whitman’s "To a Stranger" and Vladimír Holan’s "Meeting in a Lift"; passionate love is portrayed in Emily Dickinson’s "Wild nights – Wild nights!" and Petronius’ "Good god, what a night that was"; and loss is keenly felt in R. S. Thomas’s "A Marriage." Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes appear together in print as in life, and the yearning for an absent love is simply and beautifully portrayed in Constantine Cavafy’s "Come back." Snippets of Sappho are translated from Greek, while Arabic, Catalan, Tamil, Chinese, Irish and French are among the many native languages of the poets included in this emotive and joyful collection.

AWARD-WINNING CONTRIBUTORS

Winner of the prestigious Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry 2014, Dharker is a prominent figure in the poetry sphere, but she is also an award-winning filmmaker and globally exhibited artist. Born in Pakistan, Dharker works between Britain and India and is widely published and exhibited around the world. In Love Poems, she has embraced the cultural diversity of classical and contemporary poetry, delving into archives for little-known poems, while also showcasing the better-known stalwarts of the poetry canon. An exciting, fresh and diverse collection, the poems are complemented by Mikki Lee’s stunning artwork. Winner of the prestigious Book Illustration Competition, Lee’s prize commission is a beautiful interpretation of the work that sets apart this unique volume that will be treasured by poetry fans.

Genres: Poetry

264 pages, Hardcover

First published January 18, 2022

About the author

Imtiaz Dharker (Born 1954) is a Scottish Muslim poet, artist and documentary film-maker.

She was born in Lahore to Pakistani parents. She was brought up in Glasgow where her family moved when she was less than a year old. She was married to Simon Powell, the founder of the organization Poetry Live, who passed away in October 2009 after surviving cancer for eleven years. Dharker divides her time between London, Wales, and Mumbai. She says she describes herself as a "Scottish Muslim Calvinist". Her daughter Ayesha Dharker, {whose father is Anil Dharker}, is a well known actress in international films, TV and stage.

As of 2010 she has written five books of poetry Purdah (1989), Postcards from God (1997), I Speak for the Devil (2001), The Terrorist at my Table (2006) and Leaving Fingerprints (2009) (all self-illustrated).

She is a prescribed poet on the British AQA GCSE English syllabus. Her poems 'Blessing' and 'This Room' are included in AQA Anthology, Different Cultures, Cluster 1 and 2 respectively.

The main themes of her poetry include home, freedom, journeys, geographical and cultural displacement, communal conflict and gender politics. All her books are published by the poetry publishing house Bloodaxe. Purdah And Other Poems deal with the various aspects of a Muslim woman's life where she experiences injustice, oppression and violence engineered through the culture of purdah.

She was part of the judging panel for the 2008 Manchester Poetry Prize, with Carol Ann Duffy and Gillian Clarke. For many she is seen as one of Britain's most inspirational contemporary poets.
Dharker is also a documentary film-maker and has scripted and directed over a hundred films and audio-visuals, centring on education, reproductive health and shelter for women and children. In 1980 she was awarded a Silver Lotus for a short film. An accomplished artist, she has had nine solo exhibitions of pen-and-ink drawings.