Hima Raza

Ilona Yusuf (Independent Scholar - Asia)
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At the turn of the twenty-first century, Hima Raza (1975-2003) emerged as a new poetic voice. In the new nation of Pakistan, from the 1960s through to the vibrant 1970s, Taufiq Rafat (1927-1998) had worked to move emerging Pakistani poets writing in English away from the English canon, encouraging the use of local rather than imported imagery; from the late seventies, Adrian A. Husain and his fellow poets, including Maki Kureshi (1927-1995), viewed Rafat’s concept of a “Pakistani idiom” as limiting, and moved to create a “universal voice”. Following the fallow 1980s during which poetry received little encouragement, let alone publication, the late-1990s saw a fresh crop of writers. Among them was Raza who, in the twenty-seven years of her life, gave the burgeoning canon another…

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Citation: Yusuf, Ilona. "Hima Raza". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 16 April 2021 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=14552, accessed 27 November 2024.]

14552 Hima Raza 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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