John Payne - Vigil & Vision. New Sonnets

by John Payne

John Payne was born on 23rd August 1842 in Bloomsbury, London. He began his career in the legal profession but thus was soon put to one side as he began his renowned translations of Boccaccio's Decameron, The Arabian Nights, and then the poets Omar Khayyam, François Villon and Diwan Hafez. Of the latter, who he ranked in the same bracket as Dante and Shakepeare, he said; he takes the "whole sweep of human experience and irradiates all things with his sun-gold and his wisdom". Later Payne became involved with limited edition publishing, and the Villon Society, which was dedicated to the poems of François Villon who was Frances’ best known poet of the middle Ages and unfortunately also a thief and a murderer. John Payne died on 11th February, 1916 at the age of 73 in South Kensington, London.

86 pages, Paperback

Published November 28, 2018

About the author

John Payne (do not confuse with John Howard Payne) was an English poet and translator. Initially he pursued a legal career, and associated with Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Later he became involved with limited edition publishing, and the Villon Society.

He is now best known for his translations of Boccaccio's Decameron, The Arabian Nights and the Diwan Hafez. Payne once said that Hafez, Dante and Shakespeare were the three greatest poets of the world.

John Payne translations of the Arabian Nights include appended editions. There were 9 original works, then 3 more in a group, then 3 different releases of individual works.
For example:
Volume 4 of 9 is the same as Volume 4 of 12 and Volume 4 of 15; Volume 10 of 12 is the same as Volume 10 of 13 and 10 of 15.