HAFEZ: DANCE OF LIFE
For six hundred years, Hafez has continued to be the supreme
Persian poet as well as the most popular in Iran. In the West,
linguists and scholars have been moved and inspired by his poetry
throughout the centuries. And yet he has remained unknown to the
English-speaking public. This is unfortunate, for Hafez's poetry
is as relevant today as ever, and has much to delight the Western
audience. Here, a selection of Hafez's finest poems are magnificently
presented in a multifaceted contemporary way. By including for
each poem a modern verse and a literal prose translation, an English
tranliteration, an English-Persian reading of the poem on cassette,
as well as calligraphy and illumination of the original, this
book, for the first time, makes accessible to the lover of poetry
and art the exquisite beauty, intricacy, richness, and music of
the greatest lyric poet of all time.
Michael Boylan's verse translations represent both a contemporary
interpretation and a timeless image of Hafez, the poet and the
artists. Hassan Zenderoudi has interpreted each poem with a brilliant
illumination, creating at the same time a contemporary painting.
The Qazvini/Ghani text has been newly calligraphed by Amir Hossein
Tabnak, one of the foremost calligraphers of the classic school.
H.W. Clarke's 19th century prose translations have been included
becasue of their literal clarity and elegance of style (depite
the archaic vocabulary and the Persian word order).
Foreword
Poems
Song of Spring
Morning Light
Thorns and Roses
Dance of Life
Paean of a Dreg-Drinker
Boatpeople
Leave the Rest Behind
Rendevous
Love's See
The Veil
Back to the Heart
From Behind the Caravan
Transliterations and Notes
By following the simplified transliteration system (and with
a little practice), the English language readercan recite the
poems in Persian. The unfamiliar reader can also benefit from
the scansion and the marks of emphasis.
Anecdotes
For the scholar, there is very little factual information
about Hafez's life. We have nonetheless included the more colorful
stories told about him through the years.
Afterword
Michael Hillmann, Professor of Persian at the University of
Texas and one of the leading Western scholars of Persian studies,
reflects on Hafez's relevance today.
Bibliography
Library Journal: "This introduction to Hafez is an intellectual
gem illustrated by striking works of Persian art and calligraphy.
. . . A delightful introduction to a major world-class author
that belongs in any library interested in world literature."
Small Press Magazine: "Buy this book. . . . Communicating
on many levels, Hafez: Dance of Life is beautiful, readable and
timely."
Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies:
"Michael Boylan's sensitive free-verse translations, supported
by well-produced cassette readings of the Persian and English
texts, have opened a way in to the various layers of a rich poetic
tradition. This is, indeed, the right way to bring the ghazals
closer to a wider audience."
Middle East Journal: "The translated poems, present
a 'modern' version of Hafez . . . their expression is clear and
simple, and the feeling of Hafez shines through them. They are
accompanied by the prose renderings [which] provide the reader
with an insight into the allegorical dimensions of Hafez's poetry."
Abstracta Iranica: "This colorful book is the result
of a collaborative effort concentrated on twelve ghazals from
approximately five hundred composed by the fourteenth-century
Persian poet. Each ghazal is represented by a calligraphic writing
of the original Persian, a literal prose translation, a verse
translation, and an illustration inspired by the ghazal's words,
themes and motifs."
For full text of all reviews, click here
The limited edition is a handsome clothbound edition in a handmade
gold stamped slipcase box. Fifty copies were made, and only a
very few remain.
This one hour cassette is a wonderful aural supplement to Hafez: Dance of Life. On side A, the renown contempoary poet Nader Naderpour reads the twelve poems in the book in Persian. On side B, Michael Boylan reads the English translations. Background music is provided by Hossein Alizadeh on the tar and setar, and Hossein Umoumi on the ney.