Customer Reviews

A Millennium of Classical Persian Poetry: A Guide to the Reading & Understanding of Persian Poetry from the Tenth to the Twentieth Century

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This book is the only one of its kind for anyone who wants to learn about Persian poetry in the original language. The selection of poets is generous, including practically all of the great names but also many lesser known authors. Most helpfully, there is a very complete vocabulary at the end of the book. This spares you the need for the monumental Steinglass dictionary which is hard to find, expensive and heavy and gives a good dozen contradictory meanings for most words. In short, Thackston's collection is self-sufficient and saves you hours of dictionary work.

It's also an easy book to dip into, and you are likely to find something to your taste; there are the early (10th century)lyrics and odes from Central Asia; two extracts from the Shahnameh; some portions from Anvari, Khaqani and Nizami, the great names of didactic mysticism leading up to Rumi who is very well covered; several ghazals by Hafez; Jami, and a host of minor ghazal writers, including some from Moghul India. The anthology ends with the start of the 20th century.

There are still some things which I think could be improved on. The notes are to few rather than too many, and seem to get thinner as the book progresses. That means they dwindle exactly when they are needed most, with the enigmatic exponents of the "Indian style." This is especially true for Bedil, for whom two ghazals are given; Thackston writes that Bedil "requires a good deal of thought on the reader's part" and yet there is hardly even a note or the slightest indication of the poet's beliefs. These pieces, which are dense convoluted but tantalising, were just out of reach for me. And while the period up to the 15th century has very often been discussed in introductory books, puzzled readers will find virtually no other books to help them out here.

In a general way, my feeling is that Thackston spends too long explaining metrics and not long enough providing a backdrop for the poems presented; granted that the poems should speak for themselves, it is useful to have guidelines as to the content, especially for narratives.

As for the selection of poets, I found that the ghazal genre was over-represented later in the book, with too many minor figures who are only an anticlimax once the inimitable Hafiz has been encountered. But there is a powerful ode by Muhtasham on the death of the Imam Husayn, and a hilarious piece of satire by Ubayd, and more pieces like these would have given a much needed change of tone.

Personally - though this is a matter of opinion - I would have liked to see more quatrains. short and snappy, they would be useful for people who are new to Persian poetry; but there are only three here, all by Umar Khayyam. I would have liked more by this poet, and perhaps others by poets who are famous for them, such as Baba Taher (who is not represented), Rumi and Jami. It's And since the anthology includes the Indian subcontinent and the 20th century, where is Muhammad Iqbal?

Despite all of that, this is an immensely useful book, and the only one of its kind. It does, however, assume a fairly solid knowledge of Persian. I found that Indian Style poets, and also Firdawsi, were best saved till last (and even then, they stump me). Otherwise, start were you like - as good a place as any is the first poet, Rudaki, who's simple and direct. Otherwise, I particularly enjoyed the sections by Kasa'i, Hujjat, Sa'd-i Salman, Amir Khusro, Iraqi and of course Rumi and Hafiz.