Hafiz of Shiraz: Thirty Poems an Introduction to the Sufi Master

Rating:
Summary: The ideal translation of Hafiz
Review: 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 artfully combined in the same poems erotic, mystical and political themes. The ambiguities in reference and meaning, and the variation between different stylistic registers, make Hafiz singularly difficult to translate. Very few of the available 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 extremely helpful. This book has been one of my favourite volumes of poetry in translation for forty years; its reappearance is a cause of celebration.

Rating:
Summary: The best English translations, by far!
Review: I was very surprised to come across this book, which is a reprint of a book originally published way back in 1952!! It is superb! It goes right to the top of my list of translations from Hafiz.

The introduction is also critically important, especially for people who have been left scratching their heads after reading Hafiz. ("What did all that MEAN, anyway??") The authors offer a really interesting explanation of the way Hafiz's poetry works, which I will try to paraphrase:

A Western poem with eight lines (1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8) will typically have a beginning, a middle, and an end. It will make a declaration, or tell a story, and have some sort of logical meaning.

A poem by Hafiz with eight lines (1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8) is more like a series of musical notes played in succession, which the hearer's memory will transform into a chord. The logical meaning comes from the chord, from the harmonies and dissonances arising from the different images and ideas in the eight different lines, as well as the music of the words and the reverberation of secondary meanings. This does not mean that the eight lines are chosen at random, not at all, but it does mean that rearranging the lines may not be fatal to the poem: (1 7 2 4 5 3 6 8) may work well, too.

I found this a fascinating theory!

Of course, if you're becoming interested in Hafez, you will probably want to look into the entire poetic tradition which informs him -- the tradition of the Islamic wine-song, which likely begins with the celebrated Arabic poet Abu Nuwas (almost unavailable nowadays!). The themes and images found in Abu Nuwas and Hafez (the wine shop, the beloved, etc.) also resonate in the quatrains of Omar Khayyam and other Islamic / Persian poets. It's a tradition well worth looking into.

Highest recommendation!!

Rating:
Summary: The best English translations, by far!
Review: I was very surprised to come across this book, which is a reprint of a book originally published way back in 1952!! It is superb! It goes right to the top of my list of translations from Hafiz.

The introduction is also critically important, especially for people who have been left scratching their heads after reading Hafiz. ("What did all that MEAN, anyway??") The authors offer a really interesting explanation of the way Hafiz's poetry works, which I will try to paraphrase:

A Western poem with eight lines (1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8) will typically have a beginning, a middle, and an end. It will make a declaration, or tell a story, and have some sort of logical meaning.

A poem by Hafiz with eight lines (1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8) is more like a series of musical notes played in succession, which the hearer's memory will transform into a chord. The logical meaning comes from the chord, from the harmonies and dissonances arising from the different images and ideas in the eight different lines, as well as the music of the words and the reverberation of secondary meanings. This does not mean that the eight lines are chosen at random, not at all, but it does mean that rearranging the lines may not be fatal to the poem: (1 7 2 4 5 3 6 8) may work well, too.

I found this a fascinating theory!

Of course, if you're becoming interested in Hafez, you will probably want to look into the entire poetic tradition which informs him -- the tradition of the Islamic wine-song, which likely begins with the celebrated Arabic poet Abu Nuwas (almost unavailable nowadays!). The themes and images found in Abu Nuwas and Hafez (the wine shop, the beloved, etc.) also resonate in the quatrains of Omar Khayyam and other Islamic / Persian poets. It's a tradition well worth looking into.

Highest recommendation!!