3/12/2016 The View from Within: An Introduction to New Afghan Literature - Words Without Borders

The View from Within: An Introduction to New

Afghan Literature (/article/the-view-from-within-an-
introduction-to-new-afghan-literature)
In a discussion at the House of Culture in Stockholm just over a week ago, the Afghan writer Atiq Rahimi, having
summarized the last three decades of Afghan history, concluded laconically that the present state was: “un chaos
total”—a total chaos. Rahimi is far from alone in his assessment, but he is unusual in that he speaks to the situation
as an Afghan, rather than an outside observer. It is the “chaos” this issue has tried to put in words—this time voiced
from within.

From within I say, and this is important. Much of what is said and written about Afghanistan in the West today is still
tainted by an outside perspective on the situation—a narrative that keeps repeating and reformulating earlier
misconceptions and generalizations. With regard to the ongoing conflict, it is completely incomprehensible to me,
even as a layman in the field, that policy-makers on Afghanistan have failed so utterly in understanding this country
after a decade of interference. No one seems to listen to the people. No one seems to hear what they are saying or
read what they are writing.

Contemporary Afghan literature rests upon a rich heritage of both oral and written traditions. The two major languages
of Afghanistan, Pashto and Dari, with approximately sixty million speakers altogether (including those outside
Afghanistan), possess a wealth of literature, unfortunately mostly unstudied, marginalized, and known to few.
Hopefully, this issue on Afghan writing will help to introduce its treasures to a broader public.

Talking about Afghan literature, you are often forced into a discussion on politics. In a “poeticized community” such
as Afghanistan, much of what is written, especially poetry, is in one way or another related to politics; not
necessarily being political or ideological, but politicized to various degrees. This will be seen clearly in the texts
selected for this issue. Much of the country’s history is channeled through literature; in both written and oral
literature, in the canonical as well as in the noncanonical, in the past and in the present. When one considering the
nature of poetry and fiction produced over the last three decades of war and conflict this becomes clear. What is also
interesting and can be said to epitomize Afghan literature of today, is its high degree of responsiveness and
immediacy—in many other literatures a national trauma often demands some sort of “incubation period” before the
topic can be processed; in Afghanistan, traumas are attacked by the pen simultaneously as they occur. “The Idol’s
Dust” by Zalmay Babakohi, as an example, was written only a month after the destruction of the Bamiyan statues in
March 2001.

Already in 1886, the French scholar James Darmesteter said perspicaciously, “if we want to know what an Afghan is,
let us put all books aside and receive his own unconscious confession from the lips of his favorite poets,” an
argument which seems even more true today. Poetry and fiction may serve as an entrance to our understanding of
the ongoing conflict. Take the very short story “The Field” (1988) by the Pashto writer Sher Zaman Taizi (1931–2009)
as an example. In only three sentences, Taizi manages to develop an equation which says much more about the
roots of today’s crisis than many books on Afghanistan do.

‫ﭘﯽ‬

.‫ ﻣﯿﺮﺑﺎﭼﮫ ﺗﮫ د ﻋﻤﺮ ﻗﯿﺪ ﺳﺰا واؤروﻟﯿﺸﻮه‬.‫ﺳﻠﻄﺎن ﺑﺎﭼﮫ اووژﻟﯽ ﺷﻮ‬

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3/12/2016 The View from Within: An Introduction to New Afghan Literature - Words Without Borders

.‫ ﻧﻮرو ﺧﻠﻘﻮ اوﺧﻮړو‬،‫او ھﻐﮫ ﭘ ﯽ ﭼﮫ د دواړو روﻧ و ﭘﺮې ﻻﻧﺠﮭﻮه‬

Sultan Bacha was killed. Mir Bacha was sentenced to transportation for life. And that field for which the two brothers
were fighting was taken by others ("The Field" (‫)ﭘ ﯽ‬, Taizi’s translation).

And if we look at the poetry of the Taliban—and yes, they do write poetry—there is a lot to add to our understanding.
In their poetry, at times, language transforms from formal Islamic terminology and rhetoric, into a near sensual and
pragmatic voice, where emotion seems to shine through reason. Much of their incentives and motivations are to be
found here. To reflect what has been said above, I have consciously selected from different generations of writers, all
of whom are represented by writings from the mid-1990s to the present.

The immediacy and responsiveness I mention is clearly reflected in both Zalmay Babakohi’s poetic short story “The
Idol’s Dust” and in the very physical “Dasht-e Laili” by Mohammad Hossein Mohammadi. Here, two national traumas
are dealt with: the Destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan in March 2001, and the Dasht-e Laili Massacre in
December later the same year.

From Asef Soltanzadeh, who I predict will become the next great storyteller of Afghanistan, I have selected the
introspective “To Arrive,” a narrative that mediates between a past—at home in Afghanistan—and the present moment
—in exile in Denmark. The stories by Parwin Faiz Zadah Malal and Khan Mohammad Sind are narrated in a context
of exile—this time in Pakistan, exploring another aspect of modern Afghan life.

From the latest short-story collection of Pir Mohammad Karwan, a writer probably best known for his three collections
of Pashto poetry, but also a great storyteller, I have selected “The Man Who Went into the Hills.” Karwan’s
unmistakable prose style, written with the pen of a poet, adds to the musicality of the text and creates a mood of
denseness, frustration, and resignation. Hopefully some of this comes through in the English translation.

Representing a new generation of young Pashto writers, Mahmud Marhun takes on questions of guilt, justification,
and morality, giving voice to the spirit of a martyr in the story “Embraced by the Grave.”

Lastly, many thanks to Susan Harris and Rohan Kamicheril for their editorial work on this issue, and also to Judy
Routamaa and Saboor Siasang for their comments on my translations.

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3/12/2016 The View from Within: An Introduction to New Afghan Literature - Words Without Borders

Anders Widmark

Anders Widmark (1973 - ) lives in Stockholm, Sweden. He is a PhD candidate at

Uppsala University, Department of Linguistics and Philology. Besides teaching Persian
and translating Persian/Dari/Pashto literature, he is working on a thesis with the
working title Voices at the Borders, Prose on the Margins: Exploring the Contemporary
Pashto Short Story in a Context of War and Crisis.

and

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