Customer Reviews

Poems of Hafez

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Poetry is some thing you never can translate adequately. Reza Saberi has made a grate effort to do it. However, it is a pity that so much is "lost in translation"!
I do not blame Reza Saberi as I have seen more failure in attempts made by Gertrude Bell or Sir William Jones in translating Hafez.
When you read the translations and compare them with the original poems, some of them sound so stupid. Even Emerson, the great American poet, tried to translate some of Hafez poets but he achieved no considerable success. Bahaeddin Khoramshahi apparently has translated a few of Hafez Poems (?). I can remember that once I read one of his translations and it was relatively good, though still "lost in translation".

I cannot suggest non Persian speakers to learn Persian as it needs years of study; but perhaps I could suggest them to read on Sufi and the huge influence of Persian culture on Sufi before they proceed to read this book. They also need a big deal of imagination to be combined with it. Some historical and cultural knowledge about Iran is essential.
Sorry, I know I was not a great help!

Translating the ghazal version of Persian poetry is never easy due to its peculiar but essential rhyming scheme. Hafez is made even more difficult by his mastery of vocabulary, mystery of purpose, multiplicity of meaning, and the intricacies and nuances of his intent. In my Hafez class, we spend about 1/2 hour on each ghazal with an ostad (master) of Hafez.... and we're all native speakers! Mr. Saberi correctly states that an intimate knowledge of the culture, religion, history, and times of the era is a prerequisite to an 'accurate' translation (although he mistakenly assumes these attributes are the domain of native speakers only!). However, also important is mastry of the destination language, English. Although the language of this translation is exceptional, IMHO it isn't poetic, nor artistic. More importantly this translation lacks the rhyming scheme of the ghazal which is vital to its form. In these respects, although a valiant effort and filling a niche, I think this translation misses the mark. For my taste, Paul Smith's version comes closer to a truer Hafez, capturing most of the meaning (if not always the muliplicity of meanings) and the intricate melody of the ghazal in the rhyming scheme. And it is far easier to read, grasp, and enjoy!

For example, compare Saberi's (#4):

Zephyr, kindly tell that elegant gazelle that
It was she who made us head toward the mountains and desersts.
Why does that sugar-dealer, may whose life last long,
Never inquire about the sugar-chewing parrot?

to Smith's (#9 from 'Hafiz: Tongue of the Hidden'):

Soft breeze, to the graceful gazelle go gently and say:
"You sent us to mountains and deserts, sent us away."
Sweet seller of such sugar, whose life be always long,
Why not ask about the parrot who needs sugar all day?

I believe the difference speaks for itself.

I am not a scholar of either Persian or English, or of Hafez' poems, but I know enough of both languages to say that Mr. Saberi's translation of Hafez' poems is of the highest quality and fidelity to the originial Persian. In its accuracy, his translation reminds me of the great R.A. Nichelson's translation of Maulana Rumi's Masnawi.

What do you know about persian poets? If you read the Hafez poems you will say they are wonderful. Read this book to understand the meaning of love and beauty.Hafez is the memory of the Iranian thinkers.The modern world especially the West needs him to think better and correct the wrong views regading the East.A reader

Tremendous effort at a daunting task to bring this great poet over to English, but the English just doesn't sing or thrill or inspire. Nevertheless, a good record of the work of the Bard of Shiraz.