Carla R. Petievich

This is a volume of translation, with extensive commentary, from three discrete bodies of Indo-Muslim poetry: 16th-17th C. Dakani court lyrics, 16th-18th C. Punjabi mystical kafis, and Rekhti from 19th C. Lucknow. The Dakani and Rekhti poems have not been translated into English before, nor have many of the Punjabi kafis. The project combines archival research, translation, explication de texte and historiographical analysis. I explore how the feminine voice is employed in each literature and why such poetry was later suppressed. The completed volume will make available to English readers a substantial selection of previously neglected poetry and will add to existing scholarly literature that analyzes expressive culture through the lens of gender.