A very angry letter by a very angry
writer!
Shalom Eddy,
I hope life is treating you well and
you are enjoying running your mag...with a certain group
of writers merely! You have tried hard to scamper me
away by saying that you couldn't publish my work because
it was really unfair to other writers! I am not enraged
at the fact that you are not publishing my work; I am
extremely pissed off at the fact that you are just not
interested in boosting up the confidence level of the
beginners. Rather, you just seem occupied with your old
writers, who seem to be your top-notch favourites. As if
this mag is for them solely! I am not interested in
getting my articles printed in the mag, because I can't
meet your sky-high standards! Apparently, those
standards can be met wholly and solely by your regular
writers! You need not play your part as there are other
editors who have embarked upon an odyssey of encouraging
us. You just chill out with your oldies!
Maleha Ahmad
Saira Farid, Asad Khalid Raja, Batool
Nathani, Fatima Farrukh, Asad Lutfi, Abdul Ahad Khan,
Sidra Alvi, Faizan Rehman and Maheen Wahid are some of
the new writers published in Us during May and June
2009.
Dear Editor,
I really enjoyed reading the KELS
stories; such deep pieces are usually few and far
between in the magazine. 17 Seconds by Madiha Daud was
very lush. The style was very vibrant and poetic; it
created a whole motion picture in my head. Even though
people generally do not change the established mindset
of years in a few moments, I liked the way Sidrah Latif
described the protagonist's thoughts in her story '17
Seconds'. 'Solitude' by Seharish Zafar was amazingly
well written. I normally do not have much patience with
'boo hoo hoo my lover left me' stories but 'Solitude'
seemed to be more about the way of saying it than what
was being said, and it was said so well and so
poetically that I enjoyed it.
The 'Poets' Corner' of June 12
deserves a special mention. All the poems were
brilliant, especially Radiance by Haris Malik,
Destructive Interference by Aqdas Aftab and What crazy
person… by Saad Javed.
Iqra Asad, Lahore
Suggestions and comments
Dear Ed,
This is in response to Mahrukh's
letter about favouritism in Us (June 26). I would
suggest that you allot two weeks to old writers and two
weeks should be reserved to the new ones. This way
everyone will get a chance to contribute for Us, as this
mag is for all of Us. About ads, I guess we should bear
these because if ads are not there, the 16-page mag
could become a five-page mag, and surely none of us
would want it to happen.
The cover story of June 26 was
interesting. Aaishah Abu Bakr and Abdullah Khan also did
a wonderful job. In 'Poets' Corner', the poems 'I
thought' by Saad Javed and 'Beaten' by Nazish Nawab were
awesome. The poems 'Question to a Friend' by Nadia
Khaliq and 'Depiction' have already been published. The
poster of Pakistani cricket team was great. Keep
rocking, Edy ;)
Arsh Azim, Peshawar
The errors are deeply regretted.
AoA Ed,
Saad Javed's 'I Thought...' was so
funny. And so true! I am still smiling as I write this.
Umaira Masood Khawaja, Gujranwala
We are afraid
Dear Editor,
On June 9, I went through exactly the
same feelings of shock and fear as Saira Farid described
in her article. My home is situated about two kilometres
away from PC Hotel and the impact of that huge blast was
devastating.
In the present situation of Pakistan,
we all feel hopeless and helpless.
We are AFRAID of the 'Frankenstein'
our government helped in creating, and the world is
AFRAID of us! But we cannot completely blame our
government for we are a nation driven by anger and
emotions, not logic. And now we are paying a heavy price
for our ignorance.
Aruba Zafar, Peshawar
Suggestion
Salam Lubna aapi!
This time, both the front and back
pages of Us looked totally cool! I received the mag in
the scorching noon heat and just looking at the front
and back pages cooled me throughout.
The article 'Abhorrent Situation' by
Saira Farid was very touching and it provided Us with
food for thought. The cover story was excellent as well!
It was the best topic in the summer season. Delicious
ice-creams! It actually made my mouth water. 'Daddy
dearest' by Lauvut Zahid was good. The rest was well.
Well, Ed I have a suggestion for the
mag. Please publish interviews of celebrities instead of
'Graffiti'.
Sincere prayers for you!
Maria Javed, Vehari
We are the champs!
Hi Ed,
Well, keeping it short, like most of
them out there, I am also a silent reader of Us. Ed, it
was really an inspiration for me when you people
published my poem in one of your issues. Thanks a lot.
In the end, a message for the nation.
Hail the Greens, hail the Pakistani Cricket Team!!! We
are the champions!
Noor-e-Muzammil, Islamabad
