Rating: 
Summary: Daniel Ladinsky's Disservice
Review: I have run into many translations of Hafiz, and while none of them have been revelations, none have heaped offense upon offense onto a bonfire of crap like these Ladinsky regurgitations. This book was given me by a good friend after seeing Bark's "Essential Rumi" on my shelves, a book I adore from a translator worthy of the adulation heaped upon him. I am not the purist other people are, if a rendition is good and reasonably accurate, I won't raise my voice, and I think Bark's acheives this with his fluid free verse. Ladinsky does nothing but offend. First: He made the baffling decision, never justified, of centering all of the poems, rather than using the traditional and much more readable left justification. This is a trick straight out of a high school poet's bag, and one that most tire of with age and experience. As it stands now, these translations are the bastard child of concrete poetry (done wonderfully by Apollionare) and the artlessly naive renditions of a great master by a second rate modern poet. Most likely third rate. Second: Perhaps thinking that we couldn't relate to some of the actual images in the text, Ladinsky 'updates' some of the images so that they sound better to the modern ear. However, knowing that I am reading a 14th century Sufi poet, finding the words 'veggie burger" centered obnoxiously between two other lines, is extremely jarring, and completely unjustified. At that point I had to leave the book, head in hands, grinding my teeth and cursing Ladinsky, wherever he was, of ruining a great master with the addition of his own banal philistine mind. I give two stars because once or twice real beauty emerges despite Ladinsky's attempt to kill it.
Rating: 
Summary: Hafiz makes God smile ! ! !
Review: I can think of nothing more delightful than reading this book of poetry. Daniel Ladinsky is a perfect translator. If you enjoy spontaneous smiling and endless wonderment than this book is for you. It is by far one of the greatest books I own.
Rating:
Summary: Authenticity???
Review: I think someone would have to be mentally ill to not comment in a review on the beauty and significance of this extraordinary book. In reading all the reviews to date there seems to be some question as to the authenticity of this work. I feel there is an undeniable truth about the verse on these pages, which is: that these words have come to us - somehow - by a rare act of grace and contain some of the most profound, enchanting and humorous poetry I have ever read in the English language. If you need some liberation, if you want to know about the interior worlds of a saint, again I say - this book is a rare act of grace that somehow the earth and sky gave us.
Rating:
Summary: It truly is a "Gift"
Review: One should embrace "The Gift" with an open, joyful and expectant heart to allow the essence of Hafiz's love for the light (God) pour in. The book is spirited, energetic and modern. Never does the author pretend that this work is a stuffy, scholarly translation verbatim - that already has been done over the past 600 years. This is a modern interpretation, a jump start for the heart. As the author urges the reader: "Dear ones, let's anoint this earth with dance!"
Rating:
Summary: Come dance by the grave of the Saint
Review: Hafiz came into his spritual awakening by the grave of a saint. He leaves us another marker to stand vigil by and welcome the Angel Gabriel into our lives. Time spent with Hafiz is like a dance with the beloved in the fragrance of roses in the garden supreme. If you have a heart that sees do not miss this party and bring your cup for there is wine to spare.
Rating: 
Summary: Fraudulent new-age nonsense
Review: I bought this book because it claims to contain "poems by Hafiz." I brought it home, where I just happen to have a copy of the Diwan of Hafiz in Farsi and English.Guess what? "The Gift" gives no clue as to which poem of Daniel Ladinsky's is meant to go with which poem of Hafiz! All you can do is flip back and forth in the two books, hoping to find something which matches. (Modern poetry translations usually follow the convention of placing the texts of the two languages on facing pages.) But I KNOW some Hafiz! I've had him recited to me in Shiraz and Tehran. I speak Farsi. I can read along in the real poetry of Hafiz, and I can assure you that he does not say "Wow" and he does not talk being "a hole in a flute which Christ's breath moves through" and he does not promise that "something major-league wonderful is about to happen." This book is just a complete fraud. The metaphysical content is on a level with (say) Rod McKuen or Richard Brautigan -- that is to say, dreadful, sentimental claptrap, and, to make things even worse, the horrible man has stolen the name of Hafiz! But evidently the new-agers just lap it up. One more indication of their intellectual rigor, I guess.
Rating:
Summary: A True Gift
Review: No title could be better for this book than The Gift. It is indeed a Gift, and it continues it's giving long after the cover is closed on these wonderful versions of poetry by the immortal Persian poet Hafiz. When these poems are read, especially aloud, they never fail to transform my Montana home into The Tavern--the Divine Wineshop--where The Friend has always dispensed kernels of infinite love and wisdom. If you enjoyed Daniel Ladinsky's other Hafiz poetry collections, I Heard God Laughing and The Subject Tonight is Love, don't miss The Gift. The Gift is Ladinsky's most powerful work to date--an intimate glimpse of the grandeur and breadth of Hafiz, and the distillation and ripening of Ladinsky's many years of study and absorption of the great poet and Sufi master. Lover's of Rumi will revel in this Hafiz collection. Mr. Ladinsky's work is a treasure for our age. His interpretations of Hafiz bring forth the subtle music of the verse in a way we can all embrace. From the sublime to the irreverant to the witty, Ladinsky makes Hafiz sing for each one of us. Like a multifaceted diamond, the poems are ever changing--ever revealing some new aspect of themselves at each reading. And we are also changed as we immerse ourselves in Hafiz. We are lifted to a place beyond our ordinary experience. We are seated at the Tavern Table with the Vintner Himself and then transported to another realm. As Hafiz says in one of the Gift's poems: "It is all just a love contest and I never lose. Now you have another good reason to spend more time with Me." Read from The Gift at your poetry group and watch what happens!
Rating:
Summary: A Book of LIGHT
Review: Hafiz{Shams-ud-din Muhammed}lived in Persia in the 1300's. {Hafiz is an honorific given to one who memorized the Entire Qu`ran}That he is the greatest poet of Iran is unquestioned{many people there can recite great portions of his work from memory}That he is the greatest sufi poet of all is more of the question.In this volume, Danile Ladinsky's translations almost appear as collaborations.By rendering Hafiz into modern English, he has done us a great service. "Why just show you God's menu?/Hell,we are all starving/Let's eat." and this gem"I can see angels sitting on your ears/polishing trumpets,replacing lute stringsstretching new skins on the drums,and gathering wood for the evenings fire/they danced all night but you did not hear them/..."His poetyr is light ethereal,one moment, then earthy almost bawdy the next. Deeply,profoundly spiritual"Pray to be Humble,so that God does not have to appear to be so stingy/..." and this " Fear is the cheapest room in the house/ I would like to see you living in better conditions/..." Hafiz is to me unequalled.For lovers of poetry, seekers,lovers,friends,Hafiz is a wonderful guide and companion.There are those in touch with the Divine,whose works give forth light,and touch all who come in contact. Hafiz is one such, and this collection is a lifelong companion.
Rating:
Summary: Music of the Spheres
Review: For me, Like many others who have read Dan Ladinsky's unique versions of Hafiz, I find them an ever fresh fountain. These poems hold the essence of experiential spirituality, the possibility of unlimited creativity, the ocean of love, the sweet agony of longing, and the unbearable joy of ectsasy. It is difficult to remember that these miraculous jewels sprang from a life (Hafiz's)that was not without difficulty. The images here are startling and often hilarious and irreverent. But I think that most important Hafiz expands our ability to imagine and understand God. I grew up as a fundamentalist Christian and it never occurred to me that God could be as tender as this, "When the violin can forgive the past It starts singing. . . . You will become such a drunk laughing nuisance That God will then lean down And start combing you into His hair." Here is Hafiz's breathtaking yet practical image of unconditional love, "Even after all this time The sun never says to the earth "You owe me." Look what happens with a love like that, It lights the whole sky." In GREETING GOD Hafiz exquisitely describes spiritual longing this way, ". . .Tonight there is a jeweled falcon singing In a blessed pain using the tongue of Hafiz." I have given more than a few copies of THE SUBJECT TONIGHT IS LOVE as gifts. Now I'll give the gift of THE GIFT. I am a singer and a songwriter and I hear songs in these poems. Thank you Dan Ladinsky! You are like the "jeweled falcon" singing with "the tongue of Hafiz." Many blessings David Bankston, DMA
Rating:
Summary: 10 Stars ... gathered around Love's Full Moon
Review:
. . . THE GIFT is a wonderful, even a sublime, work of art. It has moved me more than almost any other book of poetry I've ever read.
. . . However, its subtitle of 'Poems by Hafiz' is a bit of a misnomer -- the poetic 'renderings' in it are not like the renderings of any other book I'm acquainted with (save others by the same author). This is inspired poetry by Daniel Ladinsky, inspired by his deep and whole-hearted immersion in the poetry of Hafiz and expressing the same spiritual themes and truths that Hafiz expressed. In fact, these poems are so beautiful and inspiring and enlightening, and come from such a deep place of spiritual truth and knowing, that it's hard to write about them without sounding fawning or insincere. But if you read them, you will see for yourself. As I mentioned, though, to me they are not translations of Hafiz, and, for the most part, neither are they ordinary versions or renderings of Hafiz poems, because they do not seem to follow the form or the conceptual outline of any of the known poems of Hafiz, as far as I can tell -- though many, if not most, lines express ideas culled directly from Hafiz's poems.
. . . That said, I'm sure Hafiz would be applauding (or perhaps IS applauding) from the spheres above, upon reading:
. . . "If God Invited You to a Party", about the Divinity indwelling in every creature,
. . . or "Against My Own Hand", about God the Beloved showing a perfect reflection of the inner being of the lover,
. . . or "Mismatched Newlyweds", about the inevitable omnipresence of God's grace,
. . . or "Let's Eat", encouraging the reader to drink the Wine of God's love,
. . . or "Looking for Good Fish", encouraging the reader who is looking for truth and love to dine on Hafiz's poems, rather than wander into the desert of materialism, of rationalism, of selfishness and spite, of empty religious ritual and formalism,
. . . or "Why Just Ask the Donkey", about the folly of using rationality to analyze and express love,
. . . or "That Magnificent Storm", about the ruin and annihilation of the lover as the lover merges into the being of the Beloved
. . . or "Too Beautiful", about the fire of love and longing that consumes the lover as he approaches near and nearer to the Beloved.
. . . I could go on and on. In fact, this book is veritably a bountiful feast of poetry, with approximately 250 wonderful and delicious morsels of love and truth.
Here, for the most part, there is no literal rendering of Hafiz
. . . bringing back to view, in antique flavors, the roses and nightingales,
. . . the desert and the dervish Tavern's Wine,
. . . the kings and slaves and emperors of old
. . but
. . . like dewdrops of love's light falling to earth
. . . . . . . . . in an eternal dawn
. . . these poems express in modern language the same spirit of love,
. . . . . of Divine Love, that flows through
. . . . . the colorful images of the old translations.
. . . It's as if Hafiz has temporarily come back to earth, and, peeking through the clouds of the past, has recast some of his poetry into the language of everyday objects and metaphor, to present his message of Divine Love to a modern audience. Here (in my own words) are some of the lessons of Love and God conveyed by these poems:
. . . The soul can reach God
. . . Surrender all to the Master
. . . Be heedless of the world's
. . . . . . frightened and frightening conventions
. . . Sacrifice everything for love
. . . Drink down the wine of love from every source -- from every moment and atom and inch of existence
. . . Every commonplace
. . . . . . image and experience of this world
. . . . . is really an expression of Divine Love
. . . The lover loses everything -- material and intellectual and emotional
. . . . . . in Union with God,
. . . . . . . . the Divine Beloved
. . . Hafiz expresses the out-and-out munificence of Love
. . . . . . as he shares everything, every facet of love,
. . . . . . . . with his listeners
. . . . . . finding the Presence of God
. . . . . . . . in everything
. . . . . . . . . . equally in
. . . . . . . . . . . . every little bit
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . of Creation
. . . Don't let the hypocrisy of conventional
. . . . . . religion and morality
. . . . . . . . . depress you
. . . . . . . . . . . . and stop you from enjoying
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . love and life
. . . There is much pain in love, but don't let that stop you --
. . . . . . just love all the more
. . . I (Hafiz) love you, and so I am writing these poems
. . . . . . to uplift your spirit, to set your heart
. . . . . . . . . dancing
. . . Be happy and enjoy life, for all of life
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . is a divine gift -- never be afraid to love
. . . The world is a place of transient, unpredictable
. . . . . . . ups and downs -- let it go,
. . . . . . . and drink the Wine of God's love
. . . . . . . . . . instead
. . . Oh Beloved, listen to my cry and
. . . . . . come to me
. . . Oh God, Your love makes up
. . . . . . for all the
. . . . . . pain and
. . . . . . shortcomings
. . . . . . . . of this world
Forgive me
. . . if I sound a bit off-kilter
. . . . . . in writing this review
. . . . . . . . . . . tonight
. . . for I have become a bit
. . . . . . . . intoxicated
. . . . . . rereading these poems ... some of these poems
. . . . . . . I actually feel like kissing,
. their truth
. . . . . . is so sparkling and blatant and manifest
. . . . . . . . . . . . . so beautiful and tender
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . that I actually feel
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . like kissing the written page.
These poems are exquisite jewels
. . . that in a moment of unsuspected surprise
. . . . . . . . . . . . cut into the deepest recesses
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . of the heart
. . . . . . exposing to the light the beauty
. . . . . . . . . that has always
. . . . . . . . . . . underlain existence
. . . . . . . . . the beauty
. . . . . . . . . . . that the drudgery and struggle
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . of this world
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . so often
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . make me forget
. . .
This book is well-named -- it makes a great gift for friends. And, through the medium of Mr. Ladinsky's inspired pen, it is manifestly a Gift from the Giver of all gifts.
I feel Mr. Ladinsky has only begun to mine the treasure horde of this virtually infinite lode of underground Wealth, which is the inspiration that old Hafiz gives for this 'modern' age. The gems he has unearthed and polished in the brilliant sun are enough to blind anyone to the darkness and despair and confusion heaped upon us by the ignorance of the present age. It is almost inconceivable... to open these pages and to taste -- to savor down to my heart's depths -- one jewel of love and wisdom and generosity after another after another.... How does he do it...? I eagerly await the next volume.
|
