Margins
Hafiz book cover
Hafiz
The Scent of Light
Hafez
2002
First Published
3.85
Average Rating
300
Number of Pages
In modern day Persia, the 14thcentury poet Hafiz remains the most treasured voice of his homeland-a place where his work outsells Rumi, and even the Koran. Yet only recently have Westerners come to know this wild Sufi mystic's astonishing verses on love and spiritual longing. Now, with Hafiz: The Scent of Light, listeners join Daniel Ladinsky-the acclaimed translator of The Gift-to revel in more than 30 of Hafiz' most stirring works. Offered here in the manner that Hafiz composed them, spoken or sung spontaneously amid companions and inspired music, each of these exquisite love songs (ghazals) shimmers with a nuance, depth, and passion rarely captured in previous translations. Music by Stevin McNamara and friends. Read by Nataraja Kallio.
Avg Rating
3.85
Number of Ratings
86
5 STARS
43%
4 STARS
21%
3 STARS
21%
2 STARS
8%
1 STARS
7%
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Author

Hafez
Hafez
Author · 21 books

Hāfez (حافظ) (Khwāja Shams-ud-Dīn Muḥammad Ḥāfeẓ-e Shīrāzī) was a Persian poet whose collected works (The Divan) are regarded as a pinnacle of Persian literature and are to be found in the homes of most people in Iran, who learn his poems by heart and still use them as proverbs and sayings. His life and poems have been the subject of much analysis, commentary and interpretation, influencing post-14th century Persian writing more than any other author Themes of his ghazals are the beloved, faith, and exposing hypocrisy. His influence in the lives of Persian speakers can be found in "Hafez readings" (fāl-e hāfez, Persian: فال حافظ‎‎) and the frequent use of his poems in Persian traditional music, visual art, and Persian calligraphy. His tomb is visited often. Adaptations, imitations and translations of his poems exist in all major languages. Though Hafez is well known for his poetry, he is less commonly recognized for his intellectual and political contributions. A defining feature of Hafez' poetry is its ironic tone and the theme of hypocrisy, widely believed to be a critique of the religious and ruling establishments of the time. Persian satire developed during the 14th century, within the courts of the Mongol Period. In this period, Hafez and other notable early satirists, such as Ubayd Zakani, produced a body of work that has since become a template for the use of satire as a political device. Many of his critiques are believed to be targeted at the rule of Amir Mobarez Al-Din Mohammad, specifically, towards the disintegration of important public and private institutions. He was a Sufi Muslim. His work, particularly his imaginative references to monasteries, convents, Shahneh, and muhtasib, ignored the religious taboos of his period, and he found humor in some of his society's religious doctrines. Employing humor polemically has since become a common practice in Iranian public discourse and persian satire is now perhaps the de facto language of Iranian social commentary.

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