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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 891.5511
EAN: 9780140195811
ISBN: 0140195815
Label: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 352
Publication Date: 1999-08-01
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Studio: Penguin (Non-Classics)

Hafiz, a secret Sufi, came to prominence in his day as a writer of love poems. That love transformed into an all-consuming passion for union with the divine. In The Gift, Daniel Ladinsky bestows on us the impassioned yet whimsical strains of Hafiz's ecstasy. Never forced or awkward, Ladinsky's Hafiz whispers in your ear and pounds in your chest, naming God in a hundred metaphors.

I once asked a bird,
"How is it that you fly in this gravity
Of darkness?"
She responded,
"Love lifts
Me."

Like Fitzgerald's version of Khayyam's Rubaiyat, the language of The Gift strikes a contemporary chord, resonating in the reader's mind and then in the heart. Ladinsky's language is plain, fresh, playful--dancing with an expert cadence that invites and surprises. If it is true, as Hafiz says, that a poet is someone who can pour light into a cup, reading Ladinsky's Hafiz is like gulping down the sun. --Brian Bruya

Customer Rating:
Review Summary: A Joke?
Review: This book must be a joke as no one except an opportunist of the worst variety would dare to claim that their poetry is an authentic translation of the work of one of the worlds great poets. The author claims to be a translator - I suppose in the vein of Coleman Barks who also has no knowledge of Arabic languages - at least Bark's poetry is readable, this book is not.
Save your money.

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Customer Rating:
Review Summary: The Gift unreceived
Review: The Gift by Hafiz is a wonderful book and an extraordinary translation. I only hope that the copy I ordered from Amazon actually arrives at some stage so I am can return my friends copy. The refund was fine but actually getting the book would be infinitely preferable. Thanks for the opportunity to share Amazon. Kevin Farrow

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Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Beautiful and celebratory poetry
Review: Only knowing Hafiz, through this book I am not in a position to judge whether the book does him justice or whether too much of the tranlator's own poetical and mystical nature has come into play. What I can say is, that I truly enjoyed reading it as many of the poems appealed to my heart and provoked some reflection of what we do. Like this short poem called "Find a better job":

Now
That
All your worry
Has proven such an
Unlucrative
Business,
Why
Not
Find a better
Job

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Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Inspired Translations
Review: These poems are inspiring in the truest sense of the word. Reading each poem/prayer is liking breathing deep on fresh sweet air of wonder and delight. The vital energy of each short meditation doesn't fail to touch the people around me--even those who do not like poetry. I've given away several copies of this book, and so far everyone has responded with absolute joy.

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Customer Rating:
Review Summary: A gift
Review: I bought a copy of this book and could not find other copies locally so I ordered 5 copies from Amazon. I gave them to friends. Every page is special to all. Open this book anywhere and start. His words touch the soul. If you like Rumi, buy this you will not be disapointed.

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