New Nightingale, New Rose (Paperback)

~ Hafiz of Shiraz (Author), Richard Le Gallienne (Translator), (Introduction) "Saki, for God's love, come and fill my glass;..." (more)
Key Phrases: saidst thou, thy song, East Wind

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Nightingale, have you heard the news!
The Rose has come back and the green and the blue,
And everything is as new as the dew—
New nightingale, new rose.

Hafiz of Shiraz was one of the very greatest Persian poets. Writing in the fourteenth century, his poems were collected as the Divan of Hafiz. The ghazals of Hafiz are erotic yet spiritual, both sensual and symbolic. Full of images of wine and the tavern, of the Beloved, of nightingales and roses, the poems of Hafiz have been regularly translated into English since the end of the eighteenth century. This new edition of Richard Le Gallienne’s moving and poetic translation finally brings one of the most popular versions of Hafiz back into print.

Hafiz is drunk in many different ways—
Drunk with the Infinite, Drunk with the divine,
With music drunk, and many a lovely face;
Also, he's drunk—with wine.

About the Author

Hafiz was born around 1320 in Shiraz, Persia. His Divan is a classic of world literature and has been translated many times into English.

Richard Le Gallienne was a contemporary of Oscar Wilde and W.B.Yeats, a member of the famous Rhymer's Club, who used to meet in the Olde Cheshire Cheese pub in Fleet Street. Born in Liverpool England, he was a well-known and prolific literary figure from the 1890s until the end of his life. He moved to the United States at the beginning of the twentieth century, where his daughter, Eva Le Gallienne, became a famous actress.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 180 pages
• Publisher: Bardic Press (November 20, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0974566705
• ISBN-13: 978-0974566702
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,550,487 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars THE WORST OF HAFIZ, October 5, 2004

By	Charlie K Mitchell "Reader" (Venice, CA, USA) - See all my reviews

If you like either Hafiz or poetry, do NOT buy this book. The translator, Richard Le Gallienne, thinks Hafiz is a traditional love poet and an alcoholic. "Whatever mystical meanings may lie beneath," he writes, "on the surface, at all events, the poems of Hafiz seem easy to understand. [Even] if they should have a secondary significance, most of us will, I think, be content to take them ... as lyrical expressions of joy and sorrow on earth." In other words Mr. Gallienne does not understand Hafiz even slightly. His translation (which is actually a "rendering" of several real translations) is devoid of both insight and appreciation.

If you like poetry, the book is equally bad. Take this: "You little Turk of Shiraz Town / Freebooter of the hearts of men / As beautiful, as says renown, / Are your free booting Turkomen." Or this: "On a journey she is starting / How can I the anguish bear? / Oh the pain of her departing! / May the peace belong to her." In short, the poetry is doggerel, made up of forced rhymes, twisted syntax and meaningless images.

Daniel Ladinsky's sometimes too-hip translations are far better than these 19th century jingles. Avoid them!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An important translation., October 26, 2004

By	King of Mars (Mars) - See all my reviews

To get a deeper insight into Hafiz, or any significant work of literature in a foreign language, more than one translation is usually necessary. Reading this translation by Le Galliene helped me get a better grip on this sublime poetry by this incredible sufi poet. Landinsky is also excellent. Hafiz is too profound to be captured completely by any one translator and I found reading both of these translations helped me better appreciate Hafiz the Man - Hafiz the Poet, as well as the efforts of both translators. Great stuff.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Musical Hafiz!, January 30, 2005

By	Teresa M. Finn "Tiffin" (USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I cannot read Persian but I have heard from people who can that Hafiz, like all great poets, wrote poetry which combines music and different levels of meaning to create something that can leave an indelible impression on the reader. No translation can truly capture that, especially when the languages are as different as English and Persian are. There are many translations of Hafiz that give us some idea of the meaning of his poetry. Many are pretty plodding as literature-the ideas and images are there but no music. At his best, Le Gallienne could transmit a feeling of lyricism and beauty that one doesn't often find in Hafiz translations. For this I feel he is a useful addition to your library if you're trying to study Hafiz.