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The Dream of the Poem: Hebrew Poetry from Muslim and Christian Spain, 950-1492 (Lockert Library of Poetry in Translation)

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Peter Cole has provided the literary world with an astonishing service;he has managed to recuperate an entire poetic tradition and securely place it within the crown of the greatest achievements of the Western canon prior to Shakespeare. It is humbling to read these poems, many of which were almost lost forever, some of which were not discovered until the 20th century. They are arguably the finest poems written in Hebrew since the Bible and, unlike medieval and Renaissance poetry in English, Cole's remarkable translations allow them to be read fluently with a diction and tone that is uncannily modern. References to religious and cultural borrowings, from the Arabic tradition, from the Torah and from the Psalms, as well as the manner of choosing a particular word, are clearly explained in more than 200 pages of Notes, and do not in any way impede the pleasure of the general reader. Many of the poems feel strictly contemporaneous. Here is "The Apple", an ekphrastic poem by Shmu'el Hanagid (993-1056):

I
I, when you notice,
am cast in gold:
the bite of the ignorant
frightens me.

II
An apple filled with spices:
silver coated with gold.
And others that grow in the orchard
beside it, bright as rubies.

I asked it: Why aren't you like those?
Soft, with your skin exposed?
And it answered in silence: Because
boors and fools have jaws.

Cole's careful attention to half-rhymes and his skill in metrical pacing are evident throughout. Secular poems on many subjects, from the joys of wine and sangria to sexual passion and romantic ambivalence are given the same loving attention as those that are more obviously devotional and pietistic. Cole's general introduction to the volume is exemplary in laying out the method of translation and his rationale for it. In addition to generous selections from the four giants of the period (Hanagid, Shelomo Ibn Gabirol, Moshe Ibn Ezra, and Yehuda HaLevi), many poets here receive their first exposure in English. Among the many felicities of this volume are the brief and touching biographies devoted to each poet as the heading to his selection of work. This is one of the finest examples of the art of poetic translation in modern times; an abridged bilingual edition of just the major poems would be a further gift.

This book contains translations into English of the Hebrew Poetry written in Muslim and Christian Spain from 950 to 1492. It is the labor of love of one translator Peter Cole, who has also provided a rich and informative background introduction to the period and the poetry. There are also extensive notes on the poems in the back of the book. And there are brief biographical sketches of the poets. Along with the giants of medieval Spanish- Jewish poetry Yehuda Ha-Levi, Moshe ibn Ezra, Solomon ibn Gabriol, Shmuel ha- Nagid, Cole has included the work of over fifty poets who have never been translated into English before. Here Cole does the admirable work of bringing to a wider audience poets who have no previous place whatsoever in the consciousness of English - language readers.
Regretfully the Hebrew originals are not printed in this volume. Cole wanted them to be at the back but for reasons of economy Princeton University Press decided to make them available only on their website. This is a deprivation for those who would like to read through the volume comparing in as convenient way as possible, original and translation.
I lack the knowledge and skill to fairly assess the faithfulness of the translations to language and spirit of the originals. What I can say is that the poems can be read with real pleasure. They flow and are understandable, their language moving and clear. They reflect a wide range of life, and especially religious, experience.

Here are three brief examples:
First, a short lyric of longing of the great Shlomo ibn - Gavriol.

I LOOK FOR YOU

I look for you early,
my rock and my refuge,
offering you worship
morning and night:
before your vastness
I come confused
and afraid, for you to see
the thoughts of my heart.

What could the heart
and tongue compose,
or spirit's strength
within me to suit you?
But song soothes you
and so I'll give praise
to your being as long
as your breath-in-me moves.

And here one of the most famous of these medieval lyrics by the great poet of longing for Zion , Yehuda Ha- Levi.

My heart is in the East-
and I am at the edge of the West.
How can I possibly taste what I eat?
How could it please me?
How can I keep my promise
and ever fulfill my vow,
when Zion is held by Edom
and I am bound by Arabia's chains?
I'd gladly leave behind me
all the pleasures of Spain-
if only I might see
the dust and ruins of your Shrine.

And here is Cole's translation of what he says is the sole poem by a woman " in the entire medieval canon." The wife of Dunash Ben Labrat leaves us this single poem. This work Cole says was "reconstructed from torn Geniza fragments by scholar,Ezra Fleischer."

WILL HER LOVE REMEMBER

Will her love remember his graceful doe,
her only son in her arms as he parted?
On her left hand he placed a ring from his right.
on his wrist he placed her bracelet.
As a keepsake she took his mantle from him,
and he in turn took hers from her,
Would he settle, now, in the land of Spain,
if its prince gave him half his kingdom?

peter cole in this book achieves the near-impossible: recuperating a lost and scattered corpus of material and re-presenting it to our eyes with such stringency, music and force that the word "translation" does the act an injustice. it is more a transfiguration, and the book, which presents the hebrew poetry of muslim al-andaluz against a brilliantly detailed and contextualized backdrop, is one of the most important additions to world literature i've read in years.

The book includes a very informative and well annotated Introduction, covering the historical, social, and poetic context of Hebrew poetry in medieval Spain. Each selection of poems, besides, is preceded by the author's biography, with specific information and critical evaluation of his work.
The selection of poets, itself, deserves to be praised, because it encompasses a very large period of time in medieval Iberia, and includes poets that are not easy to find translated elsewhere in the bibliography.
Being the work of a poet himself, the translation of the poems makes them sound like poetry, and not like a mere paraphrasis of the content.

this collection is fantastico..supreme and sublime..powerful poetics in/of Jews in exile..makes modern poetry seem like drivel..rare high quality translation..excellent work/art...you dont read this, you soak in it..

There are really no other relevant words for the poems included in this book than "radiant." Peter Cole has given the poetry reading world a rare gift that combines scholarship with aesthetic sensibility, not to mention allowing us to rediscover a moment of supreme artistic triumph. From poems of agonized religious yearning to homoerotic complaint, the modern reader is necessarily struck by how modern and, paradoxically, how distant these works are. Besides, since there is no other translation that even aspires to the breadth and scope of this one, it's a no-brainer. If you love poetry then you have to read it. And if you read it you'll want to own it for yourself.

Cole's outstanding book spans more than five centuries of Iberian Hebrew poetry from over 50 poets. It is an amazing work of scholarship and literary finesse: 300 pages of text supplemented with almost 200 pages of notes. But enough with the statistics.

Until their final expulsion in 1492, Jews remained an important minority community in Spain (and neighboring Provence) under both Muslim and Christian rule. The flowering of culture under "La Convivencia" has been well documented, but The Dream of the Poem stands out in its historical scope, beautiful translations, and focus on the Jewish community.

Each poet is introduced in a one-to-two page biography followed by a selection of works, sometimes only one or two poems, but many pages for the major figures. To read the biographies alone gives a clear sense of the development of the Jewish community over the years, as it moved from close proximity to power under the Muslims to increasing alienation and ultimately expulsion under the Christians.

But then to read Cole's translations of the poems... It's all here, from divine praise to homoeroticism, from bitter rivalries among poets to a growing sense of betrayal and dread in the last century before the expulsion. As you read, remember that many of these poets were writing Hebrew in Arabic script using Arabic forms and themes in addition to their own.

If you want to be carried off to a distant time and place - or you just want to read some wonderful poetry - this one is hard to beat.