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24th out of 57 books
—
31 voters
The Subject Tonight Is Love: 60 Wild and Sweet Poems of Hafiz
by
Hafiz,
Daniel Ladinsky , حافظ
To Persians, the fourteenth-century poems of Hafiz are not classical literature from a remote past, but cherished love, wisdom, and humor from a dear and intimate friend. Perhaps, more than any other Persian poet, it is Hafiz who most fully accesses the mystical, healing dimensions of poetry. Daniel Ladinsky has made it his life's work to create modern, inspired translatio...more
Paperback, 88 pages
Published
January 28th 2003
by Penguin Books
(first published 1996)
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THIS BOOK IS A CON! It is not written by Hafiz, and the twerp who wrote it - Daniel Ladinsky - should have his writing hand cut off for identity theft. He is billed as translator but claims to "interpret" Hafiz. In fact, many of the poems are originals and not translations or interpretations (which explains why they are so terrible).
If this jerk Ladinsky had a single moral fiber in his body, he would confess that he is a fake and a phony. He has, in fact, stolen Hafiz's good name and used it for...more
If this jerk Ladinsky had a single moral fiber in his body, he would confess that he is a fake and a phony. He has, in fact, stolen Hafiz's good name and used it for...more
6 likes · like · see review
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For someone who has read quite a bit of 'foreign language' poetry translated into english, i must admit that i don't know a ton about the art of translation and how it affects the outcome of what works i am reading. Still, I must say that while these translations often flirted with being even a bit too gritty and robust, often they shone with a diamond-clarity.
As for the poems themselves, I must say i am a bit at odds with the whole god-thing, being an agnostic at best. Yet i could often relat...more
As for the poems themselves, I must say i am a bit at odds with the whole god-thing, being an agnostic at best. Yet i could often relat...more
This book is a quick read, but contains so much beautiful imagery. Also, even though it is Islamic mysticism, there is a great deal that a Christian should find challenging. For example, this quote: "If you have not been taking your medicine lately by saying your prayers every day, how can Hafiz seriously listen to all your heartaches about life or God?" Or this: "Don't surrender your loneliness so quickly. Let it cut more deep.... Something missing in my heart tonight has made ... my need of Go...more
No one can keep us from carrying God
Wherever we go.
No one can rob His Name
From our heart as we try to relinquish our fears
And at last stand -- Victorious.
We do not have to leave him in the mosque
Or church alone at night;
We do not have to be jealous of tales of saints
Or glorious masts, those intoxicated souls
Who can make outrageous love with the Friend.
We do not have to be envious of our spirits’ ability
Which can sometimes touch God in a dream.
Our yearning eyes, our warm-needing bodies,
Can all be...more
Wherever we go.
No one can rob His Name
From our heart as we try to relinquish our fears
And at last stand -- Victorious.
We do not have to leave him in the mosque
Or church alone at night;
We do not have to be jealous of tales of saints
Or glorious masts, those intoxicated souls
Who can make outrageous love with the Friend.
We do not have to be envious of our spirits’ ability
Which can sometimes touch God in a dream.
Our yearning eyes, our warm-needing bodies,
Can all be...more
1 like · like · see review
I have dire suspicions about Daniel Ladinsky and his "translations," particularly given that he lists no scholarly (or even lingual) qualifications at all. If walking in the desert and being inspired qualified you to translate from the Persian, Hunter S. Thompson would've had a hell of a different career. This was my first attempt at Hafiz, and sadly I'll have to withhold judgment on the poet as I'm honestly not sure how much of his work is actually included in this book, and how much is simply...more
According to the back of the book, Hafiz is "the most treasured poet of Persia" and wrote during the fourteenth century. The poems are sweet and uplifting. I'm not used to religious poetry, which is what this is. In many ways, actually, Hafiz's style reminded me of the Song of Solomon in the Bible. One poem in particular stuck out to me because of its imagery, "A Potted Plant." It goes:
I pull a sun from my coin purse each day.
And at night I let my pet the moon
Run freely into the sky meadow.
If I...more
I pull a sun from my coin purse each day.
And at night I let my pet the moon
Run freely into the sky meadow.
If I...more
Oct 20, 2009
Ben Gold
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
poets, atheists, deists, anti-poets, Irish Shepards, German Sitters.
Absurd-joyful-beautiful-love.
Emphasis on absurd. Love as it was meant to be; poetry before the children died and set an iron and cement monument to mark the ground.
But that's too chippy. It's blushing red cheeks, it's love without transgression. Required reading for anyone fed the hell up with contemporary religion.
They need some word for sexy-spiritual-fun. There's no word for that in English; pity.
Look it's light and lovely and I highly recommend it, okay?
Emphasis on absurd. Love as it was meant to be; poetry before the children died and set an iron and cement monument to mark the ground.
But that's too chippy. It's blushing red cheeks, it's love without transgression. Required reading for anyone fed the hell up with contemporary religion.
They need some word for sexy-spiritual-fun. There's no word for that in English; pity.
Look it's light and lovely and I highly recommend it, okay?
Beautiful collection of Persian Sufi poetry by Hafiz. I don't know enough about the Sufi tradition to truly understand how these poems fit within it, but I really enjoyed the poetry and found it very touching and beautiful.
Hafiz is the sweetest poet I have ever come across. Reading his work especially that translated by Daniel Ladinsky is as beneficial as prayer or going to church.
It's very spiritual, but it's also very earthy. Tremendous. It also has a lot of poems that are all about being an art-star -- think Talib Kweli as a 13th century(?) Sufi mystic. One of my favorites:
It's tremendous:
"That Sounds Wonderful"
Good poetry
Makes a beautiful naked woman
Materialize from
Words,
Who then says
With a sword precariously waving
In her hands,
"If you look at my loins
I will cut off your head,
And reach down and grab your spirit
By its private parts,
And carry you off to heaven
Squealing...more
It's tremendous:
"That Sounds Wonderful"
Good poetry
Makes a beautiful naked woman
Materialize from
Words,
Who then says
With a sword precariously waving
In her hands,
"If you look at my loins
I will cut off your head,
And reach down and grab your spirit
By its private parts,
And carry you off to heaven
Squealing...more
A joyous romp through the mind of a sufi poet. These translations can appear pompous at times like Rumi, but with such self effacing charm.
This is a must for anyone who loves Sufi poetry. The imagery is stunningly beautiful and Daniel Ladinsky's translations are full of humour.
I carry it in my computer bag and keep a copy by my bed.... the poems in this one are short, concise, humorous, humble, and honest.
Ladinsky breathes fire into Hafez' poems. " The gauge of a great love-poem is the size of the love-bruise it can weave into your soul..."
مرا مهر سیه چشمان ز سر بیرون نخواهد شد
قضای آسمان است این و دیگرگون نخواهد شد
قضای آسمان است این و دیگرگون نخواهد شد
دوش وقت سحر از غصه نجاتم دادند
وندر آن ظلمت شب آب حیاتم دادند
وندر آن ظلمت شب آب حیاتم دادند
Beautiful, haunting poetry by the mystic Persian poet Hafiz, as described by Goethe: "Hafiz has no peer."
May 15, 2009
Sarah
added it
The Subject Tonight Is Love: Sixty Wild and Sweet Poems of Hafiz by Hafiz (2003)
Really dear Hafez, that is what we are all missing in today's sad world.
Wonderful poems by Hafiz. It's a good collection.
Hafiz's poetry is a good touchstone that helps me remember almost everything that needs remembering.
Whimsical, sweet and profound.
Very fun translation! A book to stone you. I'll put it next to Milarepa on my shelves: they seem to be so exactly opposite in their bellowing that they just have to be modes of the same attribute.
ecstatic poems to God!
Mar 07, 2013
Sameera Kamulkar
added it
No words. Read it. Now.
Love, love, love Hafiz!
Some lovely poems.
A manifesto of love, compassion and existence. This is one of my go to books
Dec 23, 2007
Cecily
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
any lover of poetry and/or life...or those seeking such things
Hafiz is the man, by the way. He was a fourteenth-century poet who spouts the most profound spiritual poetry I've ever come across. Perfect for taking walks in the woods and hollering his poems out to the trees at the top of your lungs (I do highly recommend doing this at least once before you die). Also appropriate to be lying around in a doctor's office, nursing home, or any other space where the joy of life is needing to be remembered. A must-have.
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See also
حافظ
.
Ḥāfeẓ, also spelled Ḥāfiz, (born Khwāja Šamsu d-Dīn Muḥammad Hāfez-e Šīrāzī), date of birth between 1310/1320 in Shīrāz, and date of death approximately 1389/90, also in Shīrāz, South-Central Iran, was one of the finest lyrical poets of Persia.
Ḥāfeẓ received a classical religious education, lectured on Qurʾānic and other theological subjects (“Ḥāfeẓ” designates one who has learned...more
More about Hafiz...
Ḥāfeẓ, also spelled Ḥāfiz, (born Khwāja Šamsu d-Dīn Muḥammad Hāfez-e Šīrāzī), date of birth between 1310/1320 in Shīrāz, and date of death approximately 1389/90, also in Shīrāz, South-Central Iran, was one of the finest lyrical poets of Persia.
Ḥāfeẓ received a classical religious education, lectured on Qurʾānic and other theological subjects (“Ḥāfeẓ” designates one who has learned...more
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“For a day, just for one day,
Talk about that which disturbs no one
And bring some peace into your
Beautiful eyes.”
—
192 people liked it
Talk about that which disturbs no one
And bring some peace into your
Beautiful eyes.”
“I caught the happy virus last night
When I was out singing beneath the stars.
It is remarkably contagious -
So kiss me.”
—
147 people liked it
More quotes…
When I was out singing beneath the stars.
It is remarkably contagious -
So kiss me.”
