About me
Born in Lahore, my childhood is shaped by the history of the city, both pre-colonial and post- colonial. The Mughal architecture stands majestic amidst the dusty horizons of the modern day Lahore, once the city of gardens, now my poetic Eden. In 2007 my first poem ‘A Farewell to Czeslaw Miloz’ appeared in Poetry Salzburg Review commemorating the polish poet who witnessed and depicted horrors of European theatre of two acts of war and chose exile for his poetic life. Poetry made me learn to empathize with the homeless and exiles. Read more Rizwan Akhtar often talks about how his experiences and the familiar streets of Lahore shape his poetic sensibility. This approach to the world seems to teach us to notice details that others overlook. The author’s texts have a special tone — warm, attentive, awakening interest in things that seem ordinary. That is why Rizwan Akhtar’s work easily inspires reflection on how the human desire for history, symbols, and the play of meanings manifests itself in different spheres of life.
Contemporary online entertainment is sometimes perceived in a similar way. Some slots seem to build their own little worlds, create an internal rhythm, and offer simple but exciting action. This is especially noticeable when it comes to classic games, where everything is based on pure dynamics. So, when discussing familiar formats or updates for players in Austria, it is easy to mention the resource
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The result is an interesting combination: poetry, as in Rizwan Akhtar’s work, encourages us to see the hidden rhythm in the familiar, while modern gaming formats remind us that even simplicity can have its own artistic impulse. This comparison helps us look at both topics from a new angle.
My Book
In his collection Lahore, I am coming, Rizwan Akhtar creates the voice of a bard who must bear witness to, not just the effects of a colonial past, but also the present, in terms of terrorist atrocities in Pakistan. Akhtar suggests that poets are chosen and much rather like a medium see opportunities for poems everywhere. As such these poems are finely crafted. There is a sense of a compulsion to write the world the poet sees, an imperative not to overlook anything. (Fiona Sinclair)
Selected Poems
The Dancing Courtesans of Old Lahore
Exiled
History of a Formless Ghazal
Birds