SOAS, University of London (The School of Oriental and African Studies)

Shades of Islam ~ 21 Poems For A New Century

Shades of Islam is a dazzling and moving collection of poetry that addresses faith, love, politics and Islam in the twenty-first century.

“The poems of Rafey Habib offer a window onto the sensibility of a modern American Muslim, with unflinching honesty and richly informed compassion. The great humanistic tradition of poetry known in Arabic and other Eastern languages here finds a contemporary English voice, which will be recognized like a lost friend who has unaccountably been rediscovered.” – Carl W. Ernst William R. Kenan, Junior, Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies, UNC-Chapel Hill

“I find [the poems] deeply moving and beautifully felt and written with a simplicity and a profundity that is wholly disarming.” – Harold Schweizer Professor of English, Bucknell University

“Over the past half a century, the most politically engaged literature has predominantly emerged from cultures outside the wealth transatlantic worlds. This collection of poems is a formidable reminder of the capacities and the necessities to connect issues of justice, rights, and religion on a global scale.” – Renate Holub Director, Interdisciplinary Studies, University of California, Berkeley

“I applaud...both the courage of this poetry, and the development of what is today practically a novel poetic form, the extended public meditation in lyric form. It reminds me a lot of the early Auden and Day Lewis; and it shows great promise. So much else passing itself off these days as poetry looks utterly trivial alongside it.” – Chris Fitter Associate Professor of English, Rutgers University

Speaker Biography

Rafey Habib was born in India, grew up in England and now lives in America. He received his doctorate from the University of Oxford, and is currently Professor of English at Rutgers University. He is the author of six books, including A History Of Literary Criticism: From Plato To The Present (2005) and An Anthology of Modern Urdu Poetry in English Translation. He is currently editing the Oxford Anthology of Literary Criticism and Theory. Advance Praise for Shades of Islam.