Welcome to the launch of Dawn bitten by the night with poems by Faiz Ahmed Faiz which are rewritten in Norwegian by Astri Ghosh and published by Existenz Forlag.

For the first time, a Norwegian-speaking audience can enjoy the poetry of one of Pakistan's foremost poets, Faiz Ahmed Faiz.

Meet Moneeza Hashmi , daughter of Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Astri Ghosh in conversation with Priya Bains , author and editor of the magazine Vinduet. There will also be a poetry reading with music by Astri Ghosh and Tejaswinee Kelkar .

Program for the launch:

5:30 PM – Doors open
6:00 PM – Panel discussion and poetry reading
The event is free and open to everyone.

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Faiz Ahmed Faiz (1911–1984) was a Pakistani poet, journalist, and activist. He was one of the 20th century's foremost Urdu poets and an international icon of progressive thought. Born in Punjab, British India, he lived through the liberation and partition of the country. Faiz became a passionate voice for justice, freedom, and human dignity.

Faiz's poetry unites the classical Urdu tradition with a modern political consciousness. His verses combine love poetry with revolutionary protest, where personal longings merge with the pains of humanity. Throughout a life marked by political activism, imprisonment and exile, he remained a voice for the oppressed. His captivity resulted in powerful poems. His famous poem "Hum dekhenge" ("We shall see") became a protest anthem for the freedom struggle throughout South Asia.

Faiz, who received the Lenin Peace Prize in 1962, is one of the most translated Asian poets. His poems have inspired freedom movements and literary renewal in countries from South Africa and Turkey to Indonesia.

Paraphrase and afterword by Astri Ghosh.