225:, "Dear Shahid", informing the world about a region from which no news is reported, and where violent death is common and "Everyone carries his address in his pocket so that at least his body will reach home". The usage of letters and post offices, harbingers of information, conveys Ali's search for information despite the lack of communications, even though everyone wants to share it. Through the metaphors of letter and post offices Ali also bears witness to the tragedy in the region, narrating it to the world at the same time, and further wants the peace to return.
255:. The first section describes the narrator returning to Kashmir, where images of minarets, astrologers, and postal inspectors are evoked. The next stanza refers to the violence in the region. Following the imagery of the first section, the second section introduces people trying but unable to talk to each other; no nation is mentioned on the postal stamps because the region is disputed. The third section has the narrator take on the role of a
101:. The title poem, which has become a symbol for freedom, is one of the most famous about Kashmir. In the decades since its publication, under renewed conflict and censorship in the region, it has been cited by politicians, protestors, academics and journalists. The collection brought Ali critical acclaim, universal praise and a
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that peaked in 1990. There had been a total breakdown of state machinery, resulting in the suspension of postal services in the region for seven months. Some post offices were converted into bunkers by the army. In the poem, Shahid writes about "the land of doomed addresses", referring to letters and
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had to flee during the violence in the 1990s. This poem is introduced with the epigraph "They make desolation and call it peace", by which Ali alludes that the whole population of
Kashmir, both Hindu and Muslims, has become captive. However, throughout the collection, Ali is hopeful for the return of
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The title poem has been cited by cultural and political figures in the years since its publication. The reasons for the work being cited vary. From the poem being critically and universally praised, to it becoming one of the most famous poems to be written about
Kashmir, it was a poem that connected
259:, but instead of calling people to prayer he calls them to buy postage stamps before he is gone. In the fourth and final section, the narrator reads letters that have been piling up. Slowly the narrator descends into madness, ending with a personal thought that he would like to live forever.
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to the land and the people of the region. It became a metaphor for a free country and anchored the larger collection that talked about the pain of
Kashmir in a heartfelt and intense way. Ali's masterpiece deeply connected with and in turn influenced many Kashmiri writers. Kashmiri novelist
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packages that piled up in post offices and went undelivered. He further goes on to talk about more haunting experiences during the conflict; he writes about longing and "the struggle to understand what is happening in his home and his heart". Ali also compares the misfortunes of
266:, Srinagar, where Irfan Hassan saw heaps of letters in a post office, and found many letters addressed to himself and Ali's father, sent by Ali. Irfan sent a letter through family to Ali telling him about this. The prologue of the book was dedicated to Irfan Hassan.
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wrote: "the poet envisions the devastation of his homeland, moving from the realm of the personal to an expansive poetry that maintains an integrity of feeling in the midst of political violence and tragedy. Kashmir is vividly evoked".
205:. This particular poem is dedicated to Molvi Abdul Hai, whose son Rizwan crossed over the border in the 1990s and was killed on the way back, dying unburied like many others. The poem "A History of Paisley", juxtaposes a story about
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is Ali's third collection of poetry and, like the previous two collections, contains poems related to exile, yearning, and the loss of home and country. This is in contrast to Ali himself, who was a "self described happy man".
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it was akin to listening to someone making sense of my world to me for the first time". The title's literal meaning has also been used to describe modern-day communication restrictions in the region during times of conflict.
148:. Numerous parts of the book are dedicated to Ali's friends, such as the prologue, which is dedicated to childhood friend Irfan Hassan. The collection itself is dedicated to his mother and to the American poet
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In another poem of the collection, "I See
Kashmir from New Delhi at Midnight", Ali tries to imagine the violence in Kashmir, going as far as to say, "Don't tell my father I have died", hinting at the
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in his review said, "Ali speaks for
Kashmir in a large, generous, compassionate, powerful and urgent voice ... Few poets in this country have such a voice or such a topic".
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Russia. The collection covers themes such as exile, post-colonialism, and communication (both emotionally and in terms of self-knowledge). Ali's poetry also addresses the
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replied: "A total of 1,699 post offices function in the J-K Circle, of which 705 post offices function in
Kashmir Valley". The title poem was also referred to in the
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During an interview Ali said that all these designations would be true: "Kashmiri-American poet, Indian-American poet, South Asian-American poet, Muslim-American."
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the pandits and the return of peace. He does though write in "A Pastoral" that the return is only possible when "the soldiers return the keys".
332:, was titled 'The Country Without a Post Office'. Posters with the poem's name were pasted across the JNU campus. Following the controversy, a
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referenced the title in his tweet: "Kashmir is now officially The
Country Without a Post Office. I'm so very sorry, Shahid". Soon after the
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The title poem, "The
Country Without a Post Office", was originally published under the title "Kashmir without a Post Office" in the
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feelings. By beginning with
Mandelstam's poem, Ali tries to bring out the sheer scale of the tragedy in Kashmir by comparing it with
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1030:"Country without a post office: The unconscionable communication siege of Kashmir must look beyond public order and state security"
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wrote, "For many of us, growing up amid this horror, it was Shahid who shone a light on the darkness... when I first read
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The poem was inspired by a letter Ali received from a childhood friend, Irfan Hassan. The letter described an incident in
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used the title as an article heading in August 2019. In
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839:"Within India, There's A 'Country Without A Post Office' And It Is Now Being Debated in Parliament"
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Cultural plurality and revival: A study of the poetry of Agha Shahid Ali (A PhD Thesis)
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application was filed related to the poem, to which the Chief Postmaster General of
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in a sea of stories? Or: Kacmir, Kaschemir, Kasmere, Kachmire, Kasmir. Kerseymere?
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stated: "Kashmir has once again turned into a country without a post office".
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Cover of first US hardcover edition (1997), also used for US paperback edition
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in 2019 and the bifurcation of the state, a communications blackout prompted
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called Shahid "one of America's finest younger poets". American writer
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with the violence in Kashmir. The poem "Farewell" talks about how the
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For Ali, "home" largely refers to an "imaginary homeland" laden with
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A Study Guide for Agha Shahid Ali's "Country Without A Post Office"
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Let me cry out in that void, say it as I can. I write on that void:
554:"Analysis of The Country Without a Post Office By Agha Shahid Ali"
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called this poem "the most poignant of Shahid's political poems".
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community; one of the poems in the collection is dedicated to
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Kashmere, Cachemire, Cushmeer, Cachmiere, Cašmir. Or Cauchemar
1004:"Twitter laughs out loud as JNU row inspires RTI application"
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The poem is written in four sections, each composed of three
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ran an editorial titled "Country Without a Post Office".
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Kashmir, Kaschmir, Cashmere, Qashmir, Cashmir, Cashmire,
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noted that "this is poetry whose appeal is universal".
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586:The Country Without a Post Office: Poems 1991-1995
449:Benvenuto, Christine (2002). "Agha Shahid Ali".
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93:is a 1997 collection of poems written by the
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765:"The Country Without a Post Office"
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156:is used as the epigraph, invoking
120:Some poems of the collection have
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1091:. United States of America: Gale
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90:The Country Without a Post Office
1189:Books about the Kashmir conflict
495:Kapoor, Manan (29 August 2019).
1056:"Country without a post office"
684:, p. Chapter 2 Page 66-68.
1110:Shabir, Syed Humayoun (2013).
1054:Editorial (8 September 2019).
912:. W. W. Norton, Incorporated.
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322:2001 Indian Parliament attack
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203:disappearances in the region
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318:Jawaharlal Nehru University
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221:The collection also has a
190:. There is a poem titled "
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1118:Aligarh Muslim University
906:Ali, Agha Shahid (1998).
583:Ali, Agha Shahid (2000).
353:revocation of Article 370
347:In 2019, Kashmiri author
241:armed uprising in Kashmir
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451:The Massachusetts Review
334:Right to Information Act
274:The poem brought Ali a
248:and oppressed Muslims.
134:Adela Florence Nicolson
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421:said about the Romans
276:Guggenheim Fellowship
146:Gerard Manley Hopkins
103:Guggenheim Fellowship
589:. Orient Blackswan.
192:Hans Christian Ostro
1060:The Express Tribune
384:The Express Tribune
342:Parliament of India
324:, which led to the
236:Graham House Review
124:from poets such as
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650:The Indian Express
361:T. M. Krishna
270:Critical reception
1174:1997 poetry books
940:. 2 December 2019
938:Poetry Foundation
934:"Agha Shahid Ali"
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596:978-81-7530-037-8
299:Impact and legacy
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610:Shabir 2013
531:The Caravan
284:Edward Said
196:Daniel Hall
109:Description
1168:Categories
1065:2 December
1039:3 December
1013:3 December
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850:2 December
844:ScoopWhoop
815:2 December
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429:References
391:References
328:involving
310:Country...
229:Title poem
188:Suvir Kaul
1134:cite book
1120:, India.
1034:Firstpost
810:Scroll.in
463:0025-4878
378:Firstpost
372:Scroll.in
359:musician
344:in 2016.
176:diasporic
122:epigraphs
105:in 1996.
979:The Week
471:25091852
419:Calgacus
357:Carnatic
338:Srinagar
160:itself:
49:Language
257:muezzin
253:octaves
211:Parvati
158:Kashmir
70:America
52:English
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417:Which
223:letter
144:, and
39:Author
467:JSTOR
396:Notes
207:Shiva
97:poet
1140:link
1097:ISBN
1067:2019
1041:2019
1015:2019
986:2019
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852:2019
817:2019
776:2019
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508:2019
459:ISSN
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62:1997
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