In Wineseller's Street: Rendering of Hafez (Paperback)

by Hafiz (Author), Thomas Rain Crowe (Author) "Hey, Winebringer, fill our cups with the light of wine!..." (more)
Key Phrases: Perfect Master

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
contemporary versions of the greatest Persian poet

Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Persian

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Product Details

• Paperback: 84 pages
• Publisher: Ibex Publishers; 1st Printing edition (January 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.com Sales Rank: #2,803,608 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

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

By A Customer

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.

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

By	Yana Murphy (Berkeley, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

3 of 5 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

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!"