Haider Shahbaz

Haider Shahbaz is a writer, translator, and scholar from Pakistan. His research is focused on South Asian and Black literatures, Afro-Asian and Third World formations, colonial and anticolonial thought, translation studies, and Marxism. He is interested in the ways people resist colonialism and the various literary and artistic forms engaged in these struggles.

Shahbaz’s critical research is closely tied to his creative work as a literary translator. He has previously published translations from Urdu and Punjabi, and he is currently working on two translations: a collection of ‘compositions’ by the leftist avant-garde Indian Urdu writer, Balraj Manra, and a poetry collection by N.M. Danish, an Urdu poet of African descent.

Selected Publications

Translations

Keeru by Fauzia Rafique. Hachette India, 2025.

Hassan’s State of Affairs by Mirza Athar Baig. HaperCollins India, 2019.

Articles and Book Chapters

“Translating Toward a Dark Commons: Toni Morrison’s Beloved.” Comparative Literature Studies, vol. 63 no. 3, 2026, p. 456-482.

“The Dream of a Dark Citation.” boundary 2 February 2026; 53 (1): 119–144.

“Fahmida Riaz’s Awaz: Translation and Solidarities in the Global South.” In Translation and Decolonisation, eds. Claire Chambers and Ipek Demir. Routledge, 2024.