Afzal Ahmed Syed is a contemporary Urdu poet and translator, known for his mastery of both classical and modern Urdu poetic expression. He is the author of the modern nazm collections (An Arrogated Past, 1984), (Death Sentence in Two Languages, 1990), and (Rococo and Other Worlds, 2000). Another collection of classical ghazals is titled (The Dark Pavilion, 1988). Syed has translated a wide and important body of works by contemporary poets, playwrights and novelists. He was the one of the first Urdu translators of Gabriel García Márquez and Jean Genet. His work has been widely published in leading Urdu literary periodicals such as Shabkhoon, Aaj, and Dunyazad. He currently teaches at Habib University.
