Hafiz of Shiraz: Thirty Poems: An Introduction to the Sufi Master Paperback – September 17, 2003

I love it, and the history behind the poetry helps so much too.

Hafiz's popularity today arises from the vogue for a quasi-Sufi mysticism of a 'New Age' variety. But Hafiz was not a religious teacher, but a professional poet, who used the same range of images to express love for an adolescent, mystical yearning, and the praise of some grizzled prince or vizier. The ambiguities in reference and meaning, and the variation between different stylistic registers, make him singularly difficult to translate. Very few of the available English versions are anything like adequate in conveying either the subtleties of meaning or the literary form of the originals. Of all the ones I have come across, this seems to me easily the best. Avery's participation ensures accuracy and authenticity, while Heath-Stubbs (a much respected writer of learned and often witty poetry) produces phrasing of exceptional vividness and vitality. The introduction is brief but very helpful. This book has been one of my favourite volumes of poetry in translation for forty years; its reappearance is a cause of celebration.For those who can read French the perfect companion to this short English selection is the recent translation by Charles-Henri Fouchecour (you'll find it on amazon.fr under 'Hafez'), which offers a meticulously faithful but still readable translation of the whole Divan (486 poems) with full annotation, adding enormously to the accessibility of the work for a modern western reader.

For a true sense of the beauty of Hafiz's poetry, try to find 'Fifty Poems of Hafiz" - by A.J.Arberry. This books is based on the book by AJA and others. It seems to be a new attempt, perhaps a PHD thesis, to do something new and different. Some of the renditions seem to wonder off in a different direction than the poet may have intended, being interpreted by the translators. In interpreting his poems, the authors seem to imply that they understand Hafiz and the cultural/time context in which he spoke. If their claim be true, then their interpretations will have merit. If not, then they may be missing the boat ( others have to decide if the interpretations are on or off the mark ! ).If you desire to experience the beauty of Hafiz and 'smell his roses', this book may not help you. But if you want to get a glimpse of Hafiz, and if a few poems ( 30 ? ) is all you want, then this small book may satisfy your hunger.

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I enjoyed the translations of Hafiz's poetry, but was surprised at how few of Hafiz'spoems were included (Pages 25-74). Fortunately, the translations are numbered so one knows which poems are included. (Pages 75-78 cotains a glossary of names. Pages 1-22 are commentary. Pages 79-81 hold footnotes to the poems).