The Poems of Hafez (Paperback)

by Hafiz (Author), Reza Ordoubadian (Author)
Key Phrases: ruby wine, clear wine, Garden of Eden, Shah Shojaa, West Wind (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Shamseddin Hafez, although born some six hundred years ago in southern Iran, is a contemporary and universal poet. Wherever Persian is known, he is easily recited by both King and common man. Even illiterates will recite a memorized verse of Hafez. Those uncertain about love, the future or any other situation, open a page of his collection of Poems at random and in it see their dilemmas untangled. His turn of phrase has enriched the Persian lexicon and, even more than Shakespeare in English, has entered everyday language. This has made him the Persian culture’s most read, quoted and revered figure.

His verse not only gives a panoramic insight into the culture of Persia but also window into understanding the universal soul.

From the Publisher
202 of Hafez's ghazals have been translated in manner where the melody and the sense of the original still remains.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 277 pages
• Publisher: Ibex Publishers (October 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1588140199
• ISBN-13: 978-1588140197
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #143,367 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars HAFEZ AT LAST IN ENGLISH!, August 10, 2007

By	Daniel Moore "Buzzing Beekeeper" (Philadelphia, PA USA) - See all my reviews

At last an English translation of Hafez that isn't a "version" based on someone else's translation (from German perhaps, or Victorian English, or the famous but rather unwieldy Col. Wilberforce Clarke crib), or like the versions that take a line or two and "channel" a new poem almost out of whole cloth, which pretend to be translations but are really original, warm and toasty spiritual takes, but have only a glancing relationship with anything close to Hafez-like.

No, these are solidly Hafez, but also musically poetry, and for decades of wondering about him, loving him from afar and through really corrigated glass, I find this book satisfies as no other has before.

I've heard that in Iran people open Hafez the way one casts astrology charts or throws an I Ching reading, so I've been doing that with this book from time to time, not necessarily with superstitious seriousness, but still, at a certain poem randomly thumbed, lines pop out and images resonate the way a good consciousness-booster does, with Tarot cards or those roadside psychic readings (no, I've never had one).

Plus, we get the luxurious meanings, now cast in poetry-friendly English, and sometimes reaching real poetry in themselves, with only a few infelicitous moments here and there, which strike me as being the best one can do in English with a frantically difficult meaning in Farsi, for which Hafez is so famous. Even Persians may not quite understand his drift, even though taxi drivers may quote him at length today!

I highly recommend this beautifully published book, with decal edges and everything. My only reservation is that the concordance with the original Persian text could have also referred us to the Wilberforce Clarke page numbers for a more indepth reading, since he goes into multiple meanings for some of the words... But this is truly a minor and even persnickity criticism.

So dive in and taste the deep wine of Hafez' amazing spiritual songs, afresh and faithful for the first time.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Has been respected and enjoyed for more than five hundred years, January 6, 2007

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

The Persian poetry of Hafez has been respected and enjoyed for more than five hundred years. Now a new translation into English by academician Reza Ordoubadian successful presents the language and imagery of Hafez to a new generation of readers who will find his verse to be as fluent, enjoyable, thoughtful, inspiring, relevant and universal today as they were when originally set down so long ago. With the inclusion of an extensive 'Notes to the Poems' section, "The Poems Of Hafez" is comprised of 202 'ghazals' and is a seminal and highly recommended addition to academic and community library poetry collections for both scholarship and the non-specialist general reader. 'Hundred and Sixty-Eight': This garment I wear, better in the pawn of wine:/this mindless booklet, better drowned in wine./Since I wasted life-when I reexamined time:/better in the corner of a tavern, tippled and gone./Since rational rumination is far from darvishi,/better heart on fire and eyes full of water./I will not speak about the condition of the ascetic to the people:/if I ever tell this story, it better be with lyre and the violin./Since the affairs of the heavens are foul, from this side/better lust for Saghi with wine in hand./Such a lover as you: I'll never abandon;/if I am to pull a burden, better the weight of your tresses./You are old, hafez: leave the tavern;/rendi and lusting best when you're young.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Complex but intriging, June 5, 2007

By	Reader Views "www.readerviews.com" (Austin, Texas) - See all my reviews

Reviewed by William Phenn for Reader Views (5/07)

I normally start all my reviews with a bit about the author. Usually a little background to what he or she did up to the point of writing this particular book. In this case, I'm afraid I can't write a lot about the author because he has been dead for five centuries. But without going into a Persian history lesson (since I am least qualified on Persian history), I will say that Hafez has had his share of notoriety in Persia.

I elected instead, to write about the translator of the writer's works, Mr. Reza Ordoubadian. Born in Iran (Persia) he is very well-versed in Persian and English poetry and prose. He teaches English literature at an American university and understands the nuances of Hafez's language.

Mr. Ordoubadian has, in his translation, conveyed the meaning, melody and spirit of Hafez in this volume. He has succeeded where others have failed. Most translators of Hafez have either correctly conveyed one or the other; but Reza has brought in all three. Reza Ordoubadian has managed to bring out the essence of Hafez's writing by capturing his meaning, melody and spirit and relating it in this very complex volume.

"The Poems of Hafez" are littered with Persian words and without some sort of explanation, could cause a lay person a bit of a problem. Mr. Ordoubadian gives the reader a bibliography and many notes in the back of the book to explain certain areas of this intriguing volume. He has written a very well-thought-out series of explanations for the symbology as well. Reza has made this translation as complete as anyone could have, right up to and including a chart for the "Correspondence of Ghazal Numbers." This chart is for anyone that would like to compare this work with the original Persian version.

As my final note I would just like to add that although this poetry was complex and somewhat obtuse, I found it to be intriguing. I would not recommend it to the average reader; but to someone who enjoys the teachings of Hafez; it would be worth buying. This book gave me an insight into a 14th -century character I had never heard of. It has sparked my interest and I would be inclined to know more. With its very nice binding, its fancy pages and the cover art, it will attract your attention. Will "The Poems of Hafez" capture your mind, I can't say; but I gave it a B+.