Poems From The Divan

Divan of Jahan Malek Khatun

DIVAN OF JAHAN MALEK KHATUN Persia's Great Female Sufi Poet Translation & Introduction Paul Smith Daughter of the king of one of Shiraz's most turbulent times (14th century) Masud Shah; pupil and lifelong friend of the world's greatest mystical, lyric poet, Hafiz of Shiraz; the object of crazed desire by (among others) Persia's greatest satirist, the obscene, outrageous, visionary poet Obeyd Zakani; lover, then wife of womanizer Amin al-Din a minister of one of Persia's most loved, debauched and tragic rulers Abu Ishak; imprisoned for twenty years while her daughter mysteriously died; open-minded and scandalous... the beautiful, petite princess who abdicated her royalty twice; one of Persia's greatest classical lyric Sufi poets... whose Divan is four times the size of Hafiz's, Jahan Malek Khatun. Correct rhyme-structure is kept and beauty and meaning of these often mystical, poems... including ghazals, ruba'is, qit'as, elegies for her daughter and a famous tarji-band (strophe poem). Largest ever translation. Long introduction is on her Life, Times & Poetry and there is a unique Preface by herself, a chapter on the forms of poetry she used. Selected bibliography. Large Format Paperback "7 x 10" 329 pages. COMMENTS ON PAUL SMITH'S TRANSLATION OF HAFIZ'S 'DIVAN'. "It is not a joke... the English version of ALL the ghazals of Hafiz is a great feat and of paramount importance. I am astonished." Dr. Mir Mohammad Taghavi (Dr. of Literature) Tehran. "Superb translations. 99% Hafiz 1% Paul Smith." Ali Akbar Shapurzman, translator into Persian and knower of Hafiz's Divan off by heart. "Smith has probably put together the greatest collection of literary facts and history concerning Hafiz." Daniel Ladinsky (Penguin Books author). Paul Smith (b.1945) is a poet, author and translator of many books of Sufi poets of the Persian, Arabic, Urdu, and other languages including Hafiz, Sadi, Nizami, Rumi, 'Attar, Sana'i, Jahan Khatun, Obeyd Zakani, Nesimi, Kabir, Anvari, Ansari, Ghalib, Jami, Khayyam, Rudaki, Yunus Emre, Lalla Ded, Mu'in, Seemab, Jigar, Abu Nuwas, Ibn al-Farid, Iqbal and others, as well as poetry, fiction, plays, biographies, children's books, twelve screenplays. www.newhumanitybooks.com

Poems from the Divan of Hafiz

Poems From The Divan of Hafiz

Hafiz is renowned as one of the most celebrated Persian poets. Living in the 14th Century, Hafiz was frequently persecuted for his disregard for the religious and political orthodoxy. People read different things into his poetry but he was unequivocal in his denunciation of religious rituals that were devoid of spiritual intensity. He also wrote extensively on the theme of love, both human and divine, alluding to the ecstasy of mystical union with the Divine. In depicting the intensity of love, Gertrude Bell thought Hafiz comparable to the West’s own Shakespeare. Gertrude Bell’s translation is considered to be one of the most lucid, musical and accurate of the verse translations.