News at Eleven: The prison years, he [Faiz Ahmed Faiz] said later,

gave him quiet time to write. He produced two of his greatest works, Dast-e-Saba and Zindan nama, in this period, adapting his techniques to the exigencies of prison life. Deprived of paper and pen in solitary, Faiz composed four-line verses called q'itas instead; they were easy to memorise.

Poets seem to be imprisoned far more often than other kinds of writers, and perhaps a nation's record on human rights might also be judged by the number of poets it holds in its cells.

from Business Standard: The Balladeer in reading gaol

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