Qafiyah:
/cah-fee-yah/ noun
a device employed in an ancient form of Middle Eastern & North African poetry known as the ghazal, to create a rhyme scheme and rhythm
What is a qafiyah?
A qafiyah (pronounced cah-fee-yah) is a crucial part of the Middle Eastern style of poetry called a ghazal. First written in 7th century Arabia in Arabic, it was later adopted by other cultures in the Middle East and North Africa. Ghazals now have been written in multiple languages including English, Farsi, German, Hindi, Pashto, Spanish, Turkish, and Urdu.
A ghazal consists of 5 or more couplets, with the first couplet ending in the same word. This repeated word (known as the radif) is the last word in every couplet. Every radif is preceded by the poem’s rhyme scheme that is set in the first stanza. This rhyme scheme that creates the rhythm of the poem is known as a qafiyah.
The Qafiyah Review hopes to achieve what the qafiyah and ghazal once did: uniting Middle Eastern and North African artists and authors by celebrating their work in a literary magazine centered around the beauty of M.E.N.A cultures and identities.
Qafiyah’s Mission:
The word qafiyah represents the rhythm and rhyme of a ghazal, a style of poem shared by cultures across the Middle East and North Africa. The Qafiyah Review hopes to have a similar impact by using art and writing to connect Middle Eastern and North African authors and artists, as well as uplift their work in a culturally driven magazine that celebrates all aspects of M.E.N.A and the people who identify with it.
Meet the Team
Celina Naheed
Founding Editor
Celina Naheed is an Iranian American poet in Atlanta, Georgia. She loves writing about her Iranian heritage so much it inspired her to start a literary magazine. Her work appears in the “Zan, Zendeghi, Azadi,” column of Words Without Borders, The Lumiere Review, Rejection Letters Magazine, BreakBread Magazine, and others. She is a Georgia Young Poet Laureate Finalist and a part of the Adroit Mentorship 2023 Cohort. When she’s not writing she loves to pen draw and watch old movies with her dogs.