COMPLETE GHAZALS (Sufi love-poems)of NIZAMI & 'ATTAR Translation & Introduction Paul Smith. Nizami and 'Attar who were born around the same time are seen as two of the most important Sufi Poet-Masters of the 12th century. They composed many powerful mystical poems in the ghazal form that influenced Sadi & Hafiz (the recognized later Masters of the form) and all who came later. 'Attar & Sadi's powerful, honest and controversial ghazals remain as fresh and as relevant today as they always were. With them the image of the 'rend'... the drunken debauchee, the thief of love, the carefree outsider, the honest scallywag, appears as the poet, the lover... the voice of the ghazal. Here for the first time are all their ghazals/poems that have survived (only 210 of Nizami's over 4000... all here translated) in the correct-rhyme structure with the beauty and meaning of these immortal poems. Introduction on their Lives & Times and Poetry and an essay on the Ghazal. Selected Bibliographies, Notes, Glossary. Large Format (7"x 10") 732 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 of works in English 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 from the Persian, Arabic, Urdu, Turkish, Pashtu, Hindi and other languages... including Hafiz, Sadi, Nizami, Rumi, 'Attar, Sana'i, Jahan Khatun, Obeyd Zakani, Mu'in, Amir Khusrau, Nesimi, Kabir, Anvari, Ansari, Jami, Omar Khayyam, Rudaki, Yunus Emre, Mahsati, Lalla Ded, Makhfi, Ghalib, Iqbal, Rahman Baba, Bedil, Baba Farid, 'Iraqi, Ibn al-Farid, Nesimi, Amir Khusrau, Seemab, Jigar, Hali and many others, as well as his own poetry, fiction, plays, biographies, children's books and screenplays. amazon.com/author/smithpa
