Khan and Mahrukh 1

Dania Khan and Mahrukh

Dr. Saima Khan

Res 700 South Asian Literature

6 December 2024

Poetic Memory and Displacement; Analysing the Psychology of Exile in Kaleem Omar’s

Poetry

Abstract

Kaleem Omar is one of the pioneering poets of Pakistani Anglophone writing, who

made significant contributions to literature through his profound and multifaceted poetry.

This paper attempts to elucidate the unique contributions of Omar’s work to contemporary

Pakistani literature, by analysing it through the critical lens of Edward Said’s ideas on exile,

which he discusses at length in his essay Reflections on Exile. Said draws on the various

denotations of the word ‘exile’ and introduces the concept of an ‘intellectual exile’ who

distances himself from society to analyse and critique it. This paper attempts, firstly, to

investigate how Omar, as an exile from the past and from his ideal familial world, tries to

recreate a lost world, portraying the transformative psychological effects of exile through his

poetry. Secondly, this paper studies how Omar positions himself as an intellectual exile, and

presents his critique of society, culture, and community through his work. This research will

address a wide research gap with regards to Kaleem Omar’s poetry, since very little

documented research has been done on his poems, and will assist fellow researchers in better

understanding the significance of his literary contributions.

Keywords

poetic memory; displacement; psychology; exile; Kaleem Omar; Edward Said

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Introduction

Kaleem Omar was a man with outstanding command and comfort with words and one

of Pakistan’s most renowned journalists and English-language poets. Omar came from a

famous family with a long history of writing. The authors Zeenat Ziad, Ahmed Rashid, and

Irfan Husain are his first cousins. Omar was born in Lucknow, attended Burn Hall in

Abbottabad and Sherwood in Nainital as part of the colonial educational system, and

eventually earned a degree from London University. He could write on various topics with

equal ease, including literature, movies, politics, and sports. He also brought a keen eye for

detail and passion to his work. He had strong ideas (and the inside knowledge of a

newspaperman) on current affairs and was always up to date on the latest news, so he was

never a man to be ignored in the drawing room (Shamsie “Passion”). Omar greatly admired

T. S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, and W. H. Auden, and played a pivotal role in recognizing Pakistani

English poets and Pakistani English fiction writers too (Stock). A significant milestone in the

genre's history was reached in 1971 when his work was included with that of Taufiq Rafat

(whom he regarded as a mentor), Salman Kureishi, Zulfikar Ghose, and others in Pieces of

Eight, edited by Yunus Said. This anthology was the second of two early collections of

Pakistani English poetry.

Another amazing collaboration of Omar with Rafat and Maki Kureishi came in 1975.

The outstanding book was entitled Wordfall: Three Pakistani Poets: Taufiq Rafat, Maki

Kureishi, and Kaleem Omar, and it is still regarded as one of the best anthologies of

English-language poetry ever released in Pakistan. Maki Kureishi always admired Omar, and

she was immensely inspired by his ability to write masterpieces of poetry casually. In an

interview, she mentioned that “Kaleem can write a poem while sitting in a restaurant”

(Dawn). Later on in his life, Omar joined The Star, which was a news company and wrote a

few poems that became immensely popular. Afterwards, he also worked as an editor in The
 Khan and Mahrukh 3

News, where his widely read articles and columns continued to cover a wide range of topics.

Omar’s close friend Muneeza Shamise mentioned that he always planned on making a

collection of his poems (“Passion”). Unfortunately, he never did so. However, he left

magnificent pieces of poetry behind, such as The Troubadour's Life, It Did Not Really

Happen, Trout, and his most heartfelt poem entitled Poem for my Father.

Omar paved the way for Pakistani fiction writers and English poets, and made

significant contributions to South Asian poetry. His reminiscent depictions of personal and

collective experiences, intertwining themes of exile, displacement, and yearning for an

idealised world are appreciated by everyone with a poetic taste. His poetry resonates with

deep reflections on loss, exile, and transformation, which have been critically examined in

literary discourse. Omar’s poetic creations usually grapple with the psychological toll of

exile, a theme linked to personal and familial loss intricately. Said’s Reflections on Exile

provides a theoretical lens to understand the disruption caused by psychological exile on

identity, prompting a search for wholeness. Omar’s works echo this disruption, presenting

exile as an emotional severance that evokes what Hall terms a “crisis of identity” (145-149).

His poems reflect the psychological trauma of the potential loss of personal and familial

aspects.

Critics like Hussain Haqqani argue that Omar goes beyond simple mourning in

handling family tragedy. Rather, it becomes a general reflection of the brittleness of human

relationships. In keeping with Freud’s Mourning and Melancholia (240-265), which presents

mourning as a process of coming to terms with absence, his poems frequently contrast

recollections of the warmth of family with the harshness of separation. Moreover, familial

loss is recurrent in Omar’s poetry to represent his psychological exile. Nostalgia, defined by

Boym in The Future of Nostalgia as a “longing for a home that no longer exists or never

existed,” permeates the poet’s examination of family memories. According to Mishra

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(421-447), Omar’s desire for familial affiliation reflects a larger existential displacement and

the diasporic predicament. But rather than being inert, this need catalyzes the poet’s artistic

creation, turning grief into creativity.

Omar’s depiction of loss is closely linked to memory, which can be a source of

suffering as well as a storehouse of fortitude. Insights into how memory mediates loss are

provided by Ricoeur’s Memory, History, Forgetting (105-106), which enables people to

create cohesive identities. Through jumbled memories, Omar’s poetry frequently reconstructs

personal and familial history, portraying exile as a place of both creative potential and

estrangement.

Sajjad and Anjum analyse the element of nostalgia in Omar’s works and assert that it

is pivotal to his poetry. They use the idea of ‘endonostalgia’, proposed by David Berliner,

which refers to a longing for the past that the poet has personally experienced. Through a

rigorous analysis of Omar’s poems, they contend that he portrays an attempt to recreate the

past (480), by dwelling over memories of his childhood and family. Time is a central theme

in his works because it enables the readers to grasp the past and the present which Omar tries

to highlight (482). They conclude that his poetry is inspired by both personal and cultural

loss, and contains layers of meanings (485).

Kanwal and Aslam write about the urgent need to canonise Pakistani anglophone

writing. They observe that a national literary canon would become a vessel for cultural

memory and identity (381). Among the many challenges the promotion of Pakistani literature

has to face is the discourse that it represents a colonial hangover; however, Pakistani

literature portrays the diversity of cultures, languages, and traditions of the country. Kanwal

and Aslam debunk the idea that Pakistani literature relies heavily on Western literary

traditions and assert that it is in fact deeply connected to the contemporary situation of the

country (382). They build the case for a historical restitution for Pakistani anglophone
 Khan and Mahrukh 5

writing, stating that it is only through widespread critique that Pakistani literature can be

recognized as a preserver of its culture (391).

Alamgir Hashmi, in an article on poetry and the Pakistani idiom, states that the best

Pakistani poetry in English was written in the 1970s. He recognizes Kaleem Omar as one of

the most prolific writers of English verse who laid the foundations for the genre in Pakistan

(268-269). In the footnotes, Hashmi records that Omar objected to the concept of the

Pakistani idiom, in that a writer could not restrict oneself and adhere to a single “language

theorem” (271). Like Kanwal and Aslam, Hashmi only references Omar and does not provide

details of his work or his writing style; this highlights the need for greater critical studies of

Omar’s poetry.

The complexity of Omar’s poetry is presented by this literature review, which also

provides insights into how familial and personal loss go beyond the individual to examine

more general existential issues. To better position Omar’s poetry within international literary

traditions, future studies should look at how it engages with postcolonial narratives of identity

and displacement.

Research Gap

As Sajjad and Anjum have indicated, there is very little documented research done on

Kaleem Omar (479). Omar’s stature in the canon of Pakistani literature, and by extension, in

South Asian literature, is diminished only by the lack of critical attention it has received. His

name is often mentioned in reviews, such as the work done by Kazmi and Raazia, and his

works have been anthologized,but they have not received the singular focus they deserve.

Therefore, there is a huge research gap in this regard. Omar’s poetry needs to be explored to

understand its contribution to the corpus of Pakistani literature, and to gain a more critical

understanding of the issues it highlights. This article attempts to study these issues, focusing
 Khan and Mahrukh 6

particularly on how Omar portrays himself, or the speaker in his poems, as an exile from his

familial and cultural past.

Framework

This study employs the concept of exile presented by Edward Said in the essay

Reflections on Exile. Although most of Said’s ideas are centred around the physically exiled,

for this study, these ideas have been applied to a metaphorically, or psychologically exiled.

Said states that the exile attempts to recreate his lost home and life through his works, and

that he/she is constantly confronted with a need to “reassemble an identity out of the

refractions and discontinuities of exile” (179). He asserts that exile provides a necessary

distance for the intellectual to study and analyse society and culture. This metaphorical sense

of exile can be used as a tool not only for cultural analysis, but also to understand the

psychological and emotional dimensions of Omar’s exilic stance in his poetry, as carried out

in this research.

Research Questions

The first research aim of this study is to explore how Kaleem Omar's portrayal of

personal and familial loss in his poetry showcases the transformative psychological effects of

exile and the search for an idealised world. Said states that exile causes one to feel an urgent

need to reconstitute their broken lives and to reassemble an identity out of the discontinuities

of life in exile (177,179). Omar’s poetry can be analysed in terms of this, to identify the ways

he tries to rebuild an ideal past, by relying on memory, and attempts to compensate himself

for the losses he has suffered.

The second research question this study focuses on is in what ways does Omar, as an

intellectual exile, employ his psychological and emotional distance to analyse the society and
 Khan and Mahrukh 7

culture of his time. Said emphasises that ‘exile’ does not only refer to a physical expulsion

from one’s homeland, but also has a metaphorical dimension. He introduces the concept of

the intellectual exile who distances oneself from society and studies it from an outsider’s

perspective. This paper attempts to investigate to what extent Omar qualifies as an

intellectual exile, and how his poetry reflects his examination of Pakistani society.

Discussion and Analysis

The poetry of Kaleem Omar traverses the difficult terrain of exile, portraying it not

only as physical relocation but as an existential state of being. His art weaves together the

personal griefs of loss and the collective anguish of displacement using powerful imagery and

deep personal observations. His verses illuminate the collective trauma of emotional

displacement and psychological disintegration rather than just a physical separation. This

exploration in his poetry reveals how psychological exile reshapes the self, forcing

individuals to negotiate between the memories of what is lost and the reality of what remains

(147). By weaving shared experiences of communal grief with his own, Omar creates a

resonant narrative that transcends individual boundaries, offering a lens through which

readers can understand psychological exile as a universal human condition.

In Kaleem Omar’s poetry, the yearning for familial warmth emerges as a touching

motif, where physical distance becomes a metaphor for emotional disconnection (182). It can

be seen in his verses that there is an evocation of an aching void, highlighting the absence of

shared moments and the longing for intimate bonds. For instance the verses of his poem

Poem for My Father as, “I remember how we would sit quietly, hour after hour, and listen to

your plans”. He tries to explain the pain of his father’s separation, and it can be seen that this

separation becomes an emotional chasm that deepens with time and memory. The verses of

this poem captivate the reader to show Omar’s deprivation of familial warmth (53). He uses
 Khan and Mahrukh 8

delicate imagery and evocative language to portray that family is not merely a unit of

togetherness but is the anchor of identity and its absence accentuates feelings of loss and

alienation. This portrayal magnifies the emotional depth of exile in his work.

Moreover, reflective nostalgia, as conceptualized by Svetlana Boym, plays a central

role in Kaleem Omar’s poetry. This concept presents memory as a vessel for irretrievable

losses, and unlike restorative nostalgia, which seeks to reconstruct a lost part, Omar’s

reflective nostalgia accepts the irrevocability of time and uses it to engage with feelings of

longing and absence (Boym). For instance in his poem An Early Sign, a sense of nostalgia

can be felt from the following lines, “The smallest thing can bring uneasiness into a scene.

Nothing is changed, but in some way nothing is the same”. His poems intricately weave

personal and collective memories, serving as a means to confront and process grief (55). By

invoking sensory and emotional recollections, he transforms memory into an active

participant in the mourning process, illustrating how nostalgia, though melancholic, can offer

profound insights into the human condition.

An aspect of Edward Said’s concept of exile is the destabilisation of identity by

positioning individuals in a liminal space between their past and an uncertain present can be

found in Kaleem Omar’s poetry. According to Said’s concept, there is a profound rift between

self and home, where the dislocation disrupts the continuity of identity. According to Omar’s

verses, exile causes people to lose their sense of self and live in a condition of suspension

where they are torn between coping with an alien present and yearning for the past (65). In

his poem, Moving, he uses introspective reflections to articulate this emotion as he writes, “I

have taken once too often, to show surprise. Spring is a memory now and the sky turns in its

weather with a harsher light, relentless”. His poems show the psychological dissonance that

exile imposes, amplifying the complexities of belonging and alienation.

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Furthermore, Omar in his poetry gives loss a profound expression through silence

and absence, where familial ties symbolize a broader cultural disconnection. His poignant

line from the poem Beverly Hills that goes “conversation missing, innuendo missing, certain

faces missing”, encapsulates the void left by displacement, transforming shared spaces into

ghostly reminders of what is irretrievably lost (66). The absence of familiar voices and faces

signifies the fading of intimate bonds and cultural continuity, underscoring the isolating

effects of exile. The use of silence in his poetry amplifies this sense of loss, allowing the

unspoken to resonate as powerfully as the spoken, deepening the emotional and cultural

chasm his poetry seeks to illuminate.

Kaleem Omar’s poetry also portrays the psychological struggle as individuals

navigate the tension between nostalgia and survival, which resonates with Homi Bhabha’s

concept of third space. This space represents a realm of negotiation where hybrid identities

emerge, shaped by the interplay of past and present (Bhandari). For instance, Omar writes in

his poem entitled as We Are Talking About His Poems that goes, “Such moments make us

notice how a whole period of one's life can be summed up by someone else in a phrase of

dismissal- which is all right”. In his work, exile necessitates a reconfiguration of selfhood, as

the longing for a lost home coexists with the need to adapt to new realities (76).

Kaleem Omar's poetry profoundly explores poetic memory as a way to deal with the

psychological complications of exile and displacement. His poetry sheds light on the cultural

and emotional upheavals brought on by relocation through themes of identity, grief, and

nostalgia. Omar explores how memory can be both a place of refuge and a source of conflict

by delving into ideas like reflective nostalgia, Said’s division between self and home, and

Bhabha’s third space. His writings eloquently depict how people struggle with divided
 Khan and Mahrukh 10

identities while establishing new relationships in the face of displacement, capturing the

long-lasting psychological effects of exile.

While Omar’s poetry reflects these effects, it also serves another purpose: to show

Omar’s analysis of his society and culture from a distanced point of view. This position is that

of the intellectual exile, who is not physically expelled from his homeland, but is emotionally

detached to allow him to look at things from a critical eye. This of course, does not suggest

that Omar was anything but patriotic; on the contrary, it is the urge to set his nation and

community on a path of critical insight and observation which compels Omar to write about

them from an exilic mind. Barbour asserts that “Said frequently used exile as a metaphor to

describe his vision of the role of the modern intellectual, who needs a critical, detached

perspective from which to examine his culture” (293). This research article attempts to study

Omar’s poetry to understand how Omar fits into the role of the intellectual exile, and how

this position helps him evaluate his society and culture.

For Said, as indicated before, the word ‘exile’ entails something more than its literal

meaning. Antara states that for Said, intellectuals who fully belong to their societies can also

be exiles, on account of their dissatisfaction and discontent with their community (146). They

are marginalised in a metaphorical sense, and this distance provides them the space to

critically analyse their surroundings. Thus, exile can become a tool for cultural studies (145).

It is this metaphorical dimension of exile that this study employs to scrutinize Omar’s

poetry, and to analyse how, if at all, his poems preserve and portray his study of society and

culture. It is well established that the thematic concerns of Omar’s poetry were spread over a

wide range, as is also confirmed by Muneeza Shamsie (“Passion”). He not only wrote about

personal matters but also about politics and the greater issues confronting his community.

Thus, his poems can be analysed as texts of social criticism.

 Khan and Mahrukh 11

Omar’s famous poem Trout, at first glance, appears to be simply an account of a

fishing trip which revives memories of earlier trips with his father. However, Omar subtly

weaves a thread of critical thought into the poem that becomes visible only after an active

reading of the text. While the speaker of the poem begins by describing the day and his

preparations, he ponders over the “big one,” wondering what it would look like in a

photograph (Shamsie “Dragonfly” 124). “Will I be the only one who doesn’t have to lie?” the

speaker asks not only himself but also the reader of the poem. Omar does not mention what

this question is about, but it can be inferred that the speaker is posing this question for

something larger than just the fish. Perhaps this is a subtle reference to this that Omar realizes

that being truthful about one’s failures requires too much courage and society often pushes

one to lie to save their dignity.

In this poem, as with many other poems by Omar, memory plays an important role, as

evidenced by the verse: “It is something to know / the hand retains its skill from other times”

(125). The speaker is clearly relying on memory to function in the present, and this is not

limited to fishing; it could also refer to the act of writing poetry. This indicates that Omar, as

an intellectual and as a poet, distances himself from these ‘other times’ but is able to retain

his skill and use it to write about the issues of society.

The following verses reinforce Omar’s position of exile: “I am blank now / oblivious

to everything except the need / to maintain silence, keep the tip in place” (125). This silence

is not imposed on him by an external force, but is self-imposed, as his exile is self-imposed,

and it allows him to contemplate and wait for what comes next. Omar does not reference any

specific socio-cultural concerns, but the implications are that he observes the community, and

keeps the ‘tip’ of his pen ready to write about things that need to be voiced. Omar was also a

journalist and his poems, like this one, testify to his ability to write critically without being

overt and explicit. Although Trout does not bring to focus the actual problems Omar
 Khan and Mahrukh 12

discusses, it confirms the idea that he displaces himself as an outsider, writing as an

intellectual exile without adhering to any fixed ideas or geographically restricted worlds

(Antara 148).

It is noticeable that while Omar uses imagery that seems very Pakistani, he does not

name the settings of his poems. In Trout, the speaker is simply at a river; likewise, in

Children, he is at a pond. In this one-stanza poem, the speaker happens upon a group of

children, wondering where they have come from. The image Omar creates in the poem is one

of refugees, suggesting that the children seem lost, but their appearance does not support this

suggestion. In the last two verses, the speaker admits: “In fact it is I, the stranger, / who will

have to prove my identity” (Omar 50). In this poem, too, Omar presents himself, or the

speaker, as an outsider, as an observer, who asks questions but does not offer answers or

conclusions. Said remarks that “All nationalisms in their early stages develop from a

condition of estrangement” (176). It is possible that Omar’s insistence on identifying himself

as a stranger is deliberate, to allow himself and his readers to distance themselves from their

context, analyse it, and then work towards improving their circumstances.

Omar’s poem Air Raid is a more political poem, which describes, in five brief

sentences, the scene of a bombing in a war. The speaker of the poem seems to be standing at

a vantage point which allows him to observe the landscape and describe the explosions, the

children running away, and the bombers who fly back home. The description is not detailed,

and the brevity of the poem mirrors the indifference of the bombers. From where the speaker

is standing, he can see that “Below is nothing / they can call their own” (52). The speaker

does not seem to be involved in the action taking place, reinforcing the idea that he is

observing everything from a distance, both physical and emotional, and satirizing the entire

institution of war in mere two stanzas. It is because of this distance that he can inspect the

apathy of the bombers, and their complete alienation from the suffering of the children. It is
 Khan and Mahrukh 13

noticeable that Omar repeatedly uses the image of children; this lends a pathos to his poetry,

drawing on the common consideration people have for children, and trying to stir his readers

into an emotional awakening.

Vinay Lal states that for Said “the exilic mind refuses to habituate itself to academic

pieties, to accepted readings of texts, to the satisfactions of power and to the comforts of

surrender to some transcendent force” (30). Indeed, Said remarks that the exile is cut off from

everything - his roots, his land, his past (177), and will forever be in a state of homelessness.

In the case of an intellectual exile, who is displaced from his home not physically, but

emotionally and psychologically, this state of being “unhoused” (Lal 32) entails being critical

of one’s society and not blindly subscribing to social discourses.

The above theme is a focal concern of Omar’s poem It Did Not Really Happen. In this

poem, Omar uses extremely ambivalent language, avoiding the use of any names or

associations. However, one can infer from context that the poem is about the separation of

East Pakistan. The speaker of the poem comments on the tendency of the people of his

community to be easily swayed by popular opinion. The poem begins with the following

lines: “Uncritical of belief, all was possible / in their minds,” (Omar 58) which are followed

by a narration of how people oscillated between different ideas, trying to create a semblance

of understanding based on very limited knowledge. The poem is replete with critique not only

of society, but also of the government, of news media, and of religious fanatics who claimed

“God is on our side” (59) no matter what happens. Omar discreetly indicates the

manipulation of the local population by the authorities, while also lamenting the herd

mentality of the masses, by creating an image of how discourses are created and propagated.

The fact that Omar can observe this suggests that, once again, he places himself at a distance

from his society and indicates, though not overtly, the flaw of adhering to an ideal belief

which has no merits. The people claim “We are as strong as we ever were” (58), and the
 Khan and Mahrukh 14

pause before the next stanza leaves space for an implied, unwritten question: are you really?

Omar invites his readers to mimic him in his self-imposed exile which enables him to study

and scrutinize his society. This will eventually pave the way for not only social betterment

but also personal improvement.

Conclusion

Kaleem Omar’s poetry provides a thorough examination of exile, presenting it as a

multifaceted interaction of psychological, emotional, and physical aspects. His pieces explore

the more profound issues of identity, belonging, and cultural alienation, going beyond the

superficial view of exile as merely being uprooted. Omar’s poetry captures the resilience of

the human spirit while reflecting the anguish of separation, drawing on both universal themes

and particular experiences. Readers who have experienced comparable situations or can relate

to the state of being uprooted will find resonance in his vivid images and emotive words,

which vividly depict the complex sensations of exiles.

Concepts like Edward Said’s understanding of exile as a transitional location and

Svetlana Boym’s contemplative nostalgia serve as theoretical pillars for Omar’s poetry. His

writing reflects Boym’s concept of a persistent yearning for a home that has been lost but

with a critical awareness of its flaws. Furthermore, Omar’s poetic narratives, which alternate

between the anguish of displacement and the intellectual insights it produces, are consistent

with Said’s concept of exile as a “terrible yet enriching experience” (171). This dichotomy is

captured by the poet, who highlights the psychological struggle of maintaining one’s identity

while navigating an unfamiliar environment. Homi Bhabha’s concept of the third space

echoes this sentiment. Although it is tumultuous emotionally, Omar portrays this liminality as

a creative and self-discovering environment.

 Khan and Mahrukh 15

The emotional depth of Omar’s poetry is enhanced by its use of collective memory,

silence, and absence. He emphasises the lasting effects of previous relationships while

simultaneously arousing feelings of longing for what is lost through these motifs. His poetry

frequently transcends the confines of specific narratives by transforming personal sadness

into a more general remark on the universal human experience of relocation. By doing so,

Omar unites the political and personal, highlighting the universality of exile and illuminating

the social forces that sustain it.

Omar’s poetry eloquently illustrates the idea of intellectual exile and shows how

psychological and emotional distance may be a potent instrument for social criticism. Like

the exilic thinker Edward Said describes, Omar positions himself as an outsider who critically

observes and evaluates his culture through his investigation of memory, silence, and distance.

Without drawing rash conclusions, his works such as Trout, Children, and Air Raid inspire

readers to think critically about larger socio-cultural and political issues through vivid

imagery and nuanced analysis. By keeping this distance, Omar encourages his readers to take

a step back, consider social conventions, and challenge conventional wisdom, promoting a

shared quest for critical understanding and self-awareness. The significance of this

metaphorical exile as a lens through which people and communities can comprehend

complex situations is shown by his subtle poetry.

Omar’s literary voice serves as a mirror and a call to action, highlighting the

inconsistencies and defects of his culture while inspiring his listeners to engage in

transformative introspection. According to Omar, intellectual exile is a state of purpose rather

than hopelessness, which allows for a greater comprehension of social failures and cultural

processes. This distinct viewpoint positions Omar’s work as an essential contribution to

cultural studies and social critique, elevating it above the level of simple artistic expression.
 Khan and Mahrukh 16

Omar exemplifies the transforming power of an exilic perspective in addressing the issues

and goals of his culture by writing poetry that is both personal and universal, emotionally

powerful but restrained.

 Khan and Mahrukh 17

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Dania Khan and Mahrukh Dr. Saima Khan Res 700 South Asian Literature 6 December 2024
Poetic Memory and Displacement; Analysing the Psychology of Exile in Kaleem Omar’s Poetry
Abstract Kaleem Omar is one of the pioneering poets of Pakistani Anglophone writing, who
made significant contributions to literature through his profound and multifaceted poetry. This
paper attempts to elucidate the unique contributions of Omar’s work to contemporary Pakistani
literature, by analysing it through the critical lens of Edward Said’s ideas on exile, which he
discusses at length in his essay Reflections on Exile. Said draws on the various denotations of
the word ‘exile’ and introduces the concept of an ‘intellectual exile’ who distances himself from
society to analyse and critique it. This paper attempts, firstly, to investigate how Omar, as an
exile from the past and from his ideal familial world, tries to recreate a lost world, portraying
the transformative psychological effects of exile through his poetry. Secondly, this paper studies
how Omar positions himself as an intellectual exile, and presents his critique of society, culture,
and community through his work. This research will address a wide research gap with regards
to Kaleem Omar’s poetry, since very little documented research has been done on his poems,
and will assist fellow researchers in better understanding the significance of his literary
contributions. Keywords poetic memory; displacement; psychology; exile; Kaleem Omar;
Edward Said Introduction Kaleem Omar was a man with outstanding command and comfort with
words and one of Pakistan’s most renowned journalists and English-language poets. Omar
came from a famous family with a long history of writing. The authors Zeenat Ziad, Ahmed
Rashid, and Irfan Husain are his first cousins. Omar was born in Lucknow, attended Burn Hall in
Abbottabad and Sherwood in Nainital as part of the colonial educational system, and eventually
earned a degree from London University. He could write on various topics with equal ease,
including literature, movies, politics, and sports. He also brought a keen eye for detail and
passion to his work. He had strong ideas (and the inside knowledge of a newspaperman) on
current affairs and was always up to date on the latest news, so he was never a man to be
ignored in the drawing room (Shamsie “Passion”). Omar greatly admired T. S. Eliot, Ezra Pound,
and W. H. Auden, and played a pivotal role in recognizing Pakistani English poets and Pakistani
English fiction writers too (Stock). A significant milestone in the genre's history was reached in
1971 when his work was included with that of Taufiq Rafat (whom he regarded as a mentor),
Salman Kureishi, Zulfikar Ghose, and others in Pieces of Eight, edited by Yunus Said. This
anthology was the second of two early collections of Pakistani English poetry. Another amazing
collaboration of Omar with Rafat and Maki Kureishi came in 1975. The outstanding book was
entitled Wordfall: Three Pakistani Poets: Taufiq Rafat, Maki Kureishi, and Kaleem Omar, and it
is still regarded as one of the best anthologies of English-language poetry ever released in
Pakistan. Maki Kureishi always admired Omar, and she was immensely inspired by his ability to
write masterpieces of poetry casually. In an interview, she mentioned that “Kaleem can write a
poem while sitting in a restaurant” (Dawn). Later on in his life, Omar joined The Star, which was
a news company and wrote a few poems that became immensely popular. Afterwards, he also

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