Crimson Papers: Reflections on Struggle, Suffering, and Creativity in Pakistan (Hardbound-2017)

The book provides insights into the society, polity, and literary ethos of Pakistan within the broader South Asian context. An attempt has been made to place the issues faced by Pakistan and South Asian Muslim societies in the current global human condition which is increasingly defined by terrorism, invasions, absolutism, and inequality. Although the essays encompass a broad canvas, they also possess a definite focus capturing Pakistans social and political history from the beginning to the present times, including how people are impacted by major political upheavals and social events, and how some individuals contribute in shaping both events and narratives. Within the broader narrative is woven an analysis of religious extremism, sectarianism, persecution of minorities, ethnic strife, provincial separatism, and shrinking of cultural and intellectual space.

Harris Khalique is a leading Urdu and English language poet from Pakistan. He is also an essayist and columnist. His major poetic works include Ishq Ki Taqveem Mein (Urdu, 2006); Between You and Your Love (2004; Revised and Expanded, 2012), and the award-winning collection Melay Mein (Urdu, 2012). His Urdu collections include a few poems in Punjabi. He also co-authored a book of creative nonfiction, Unfinished Histories (2001). During the 1980s and 1990s, some of his poems faced censorship in Pakistan. His work has been anthologized by Oxford University Press, University of Georgia Press, W. W. Norton and Co., Penguin US, SAARC Writers Forum, Pakistan Academy of Letters, and the German poetry website