Publisher's Synopsis
GREAT SUFI MARTYR POETS: Selected Poems. Translation & Introduction Paul Smith. 'My faithful friends... kill me, to kill me is to alive make me. To destroy all trace of my life is my highest goal... you see. To stay in my lower self, is a a sin I cannot of repenting be.' Mansur Hallaj. Contents: Sufis & Dervishes: Their Art & Use of Poetry... page 7, The Various Poetic Forms used by Sufi Poets... 11, Mansur Hallaj... 23, Ibn 'Ata... 105, Rabi'a Balkhi... 111, Hamadami... 127, Suhrawardi... 143, Baghdadi... 153, Hamavi... 163, Nesimi... 177, Sarmad... 395, Dara Shikoh... 511, Makhfi... 573, Nur 'Ali Shah... 681, Muzaffar 'Ali Shah... 691, Tahirih... 697. The true form & meaning has been achieved in this large selection of inspired, profound, sometimes God-realized, beautiful poems in ghazals, ruba'is, masnavis, qit'as and qasidas. Biographies, bibliographies. Large format paperback 7" x 10" 724 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 many mystical 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). Paul Smith (b. 1945) is a poet, author and translator of many books of Sufi poets of the Persian, Arabic, Urdu, Turkish, Pashtu and other languages... including Hafiz, Sadi, Nizami, Rumi, 'Attar, Sana'i, Jahan Khatun, Obeyd Zakani, Nesimi, Kabir, Anvari, Ansari, Jami, Khayyam, Rudaki, Yunus Emre and many others, as well as his own poetry, fiction, plays, biographies, children's books and a dozen screenplays. amazon.com/author/smithpa
