At the beginning of this year, The Ghazal Page issued a challenge to write ghazals in English modeled on the Arabic form. It has taken longer than anticipated, but the poems resulting from the challenge are now available. There are nine poems by nine poets, presented in groups of three.
The poets are Taylor Graham, Caroline Gill, Linda Umans, Susan Melot, Colin Flanigan, Fergus Carty, Jessy Murphy, and Kathee Rogers. The variety of their responses to the challenge points the way for more poets to write ghazals in English, using David Jalajel's articles as guides to the rules and to microrhyme. (David has contributed much to the development of the ghazal as a form for poetry in English; his essays on The Ghazal Page provide historical and formal information.)
The Persian/Urdu ghazal form is becoming familiar to poets writing in English. I hope that this challenge, along with David's articles as context, will result in ghazals in English adapting the Arabic form. If you're moved to write such ghazals, I would like to see the results. You may send them to gino at ghazalpage.net, with "Arabic ghazals" in the subject line.
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