Persian Poets (Everyman's Library Pocket Poets) (Hardcover)

by Peter Washington (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The Middle Ages saw an extraordinary flowering of Persian poetry. Though translations began appearing in Europe in the nineteenth century, these remarkable poets--Omar Khayyam, Rumi, Saadi, Sanai, Attar, Hafiz, and Jami--are still being discovered in the West.

The great medieval Persian poets owe much to the mystical Sufi tradition within Islam, which understands life as a journey in search of enlightenment, and, like their European contemporaries, they combine religious and secular themes. While celebrating the beauty of the world in poems about love, wine, and poetry itself, or telling humorous anecdotes of everyday life, they use these subjects to symbolize deeper concerns with wisdom, mortality, salvation, and the quest for God.

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The Middle Ages saw an extraordinary flowering of Persian poetry. Though translations began appearing in Europe in the nineteenth century, these remarkable poets--Omar Khayyam, Rumi, Saadi, Sanai, Attar, Hafiz, and Jami--are still being discovered in the West.

The great medieval Persian poets owe much to the mystical Sufi tradition within Islam, which understands life as a journey in search of enlightenment, and, like their European contemporaries, they combine religious and secular themes. While celebrating the beauty of the world in poems about love, wine, and poetry itself, or telling humorous anecdotes of everyday life, they use these subjects to symbolize deeper concerns with wisdom, mortality, salvation, and the quest for God.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Everyman's Library (November 14, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375411267
• ISBN-13: 978-0375411267
• Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 4.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #694,648 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Selection and Good Translations, February 1, 2001

By	Nessander - See all my reviews

Persian Poetry has come onto the popular scene recently with interest in Rumi and his mystical/love poems. However, those interested might also be interested in the tradition of such poetry that Rumi comes out of. Actually Rumi is considered as only one of the four great mystical poets in Persia (and not necessarily the best of them).

Washington's selection is an intelligent one, and the poems are on the whole good translations. Often such collections are a mixed bag, but in this case a good job was done. Since there are really no alternatives to a collection of Persian poetry in translation in print at the moment, this volume is recommended!

4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable, May 31, 2009

By	Jack E. Stoudenmire Jr. "Ravenous reader" (Tampa, FL, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

A little counter-intuitive, perhaps in this era of conflict between the West and Asia Minor; but if one can read this poetry in the spirit of exploration, the appreciation of another culture from before the days of Shakespeare, there is much to relish in this slim volume.

The mindset of the writers of these gems is clearly different from our own, and that brings an interesting take on daily life.