In Wineseller's Street: Renderings of Hafez [Paperback]

Hafez (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0936347678 | ISBN-13: 978-0936347677 | Publication Date: January 1, 1998

Poetry. IN WINESELLER'S STREET is about hope. About a world seen through eyes that don't idolize individualism and separation. It reflects the human potential of living in a world of harmony and grace. No poet and no tradition does this better than Hafez. During a time of international political and religious chaos and violence, perhaps no other work is more essential to our survival and recovery. Here, Hafez is accessible, and in his accessibility, concise. Always the humble teacher, Hafez sits with us on the barstool in the town pub like a mirror, reflecting back our dreams.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Persian

About the Author

Hafez was born in Shiraz sometime between 1310 CE and 1337 CE with the year 1320 CE the most likely. His full name was Khwajeh Shams al-Din Mohammed Hafez-e Shirazi. His father, Baha-ud-Din, was a successful merchant from Isfahan who settled in Shiraz and died there when Hafez was a very young child. In any case, Hafez undoubtedly received a thorough religious education, probably from listening to the recitations of the Qu'ran, as his pen name Hafez derives from the Arabic honorific from Hafiz, which is awarded to anyone who has accomplished the achievement of memorizing the entire Qu'ran. Hafez is the most beloved lyric poet of the Persian poetic tradition. His ghazals, unequaled in their subtlety, refinement, and eloquence, have had a lasting influence on subsequent Persian poetry. The richness of his imagery and the intricate musicality of his lines combine to produce a poetry of inimitable eclat. Hafez's mastery of form and his verbal virtuosity are what make his poetry so irresistible. Most scholars agree that Hafez died in Shiraz at the age of sixty-nine in 1389 CE.

Product Details

• Paperback: 84 pages
• Publisher: IBEX Publishers (January 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0936347678
• ISBN-13: 978-0936347677
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.9 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,573,735 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Hafiz of Shiraz was widely regarded as an infidel in his day. Today he is recognized in the East not only for the excellence of his poetry, but also as a Sufi illuminate. His major work, The Diwan, is found beside the Koran in the homes of the devout. In the West, Hafiz--a contemporary of Dante--is admired for his love-poetry; Goethe, among others, acknowledged his influence.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not the Answer to Hafez, August 24, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: In Wineseller's Street: Renderings of Hafez (Paperback)

Translating the poet Hafez has been a daunting task since British scholars discovered Persian poetry long ago. So now the fad is to do "renderings," which means you can write something in the general ballpark range of the original work and declare that you've captured the spirit of that original. Sometimes it works, sometimes it misses by several miles. This work, though it has its sporadic good moments, isn't the answer to understanding Hafez.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A poetry of literary sensitivity and langauge skills., February 4, 2000

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In Wineseller's Street: Renderings of Hafez (Paperback)

Thomas Rain Crowe is a poet, translator, essayist, editor, and author of six book of original poetry. In Wineseller's Street we are treated to the best of his literary sensitivity and language skills in presenting the poetic Hafez showcased within the traditions of Sufism and Persian literature rended up for an English speaking readership. 67: O rich man, I have come from Paradise to bring you some happy news!/Amidst my sweet songs, my raucous jokes, and my beautiful stories/That will soothe your heart, there is also the truth./I say, "This mansion is really a dwelling for the poor./Put on a feast that costs you everything you have, in honor of/the real King of Wealth. And give it all away!"

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ecstatic, wine-soaked love poems from which there's hangover, February 8, 2007

By 

Yana E. Murphy "http://murigius-starboard.blo... (Berkeley, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: In Wineseller's Street: Renderings of Hafez (Paperback)

Though not quite as 'accessible' as Háfez' "The Gift", these 74 ecstatic poems in Wineseller's Street will no doubt give the reader a glimpse of the God by whom Háfez was happily and painfully intoxicated. God, the "Beloved", is the Wineseller who lures the poet "out of the throne rooms and courts of the East and into the streets", where it's presumably easier to love with abandon.