The Subject Tonight Is Love: 60 Wild and Sweet Poems of Hafiz

by Daniel Ladinsky and Shams-Ud-Din Muhammad Hafiz

Book Overview

Daniel Ladinsky's unforgettable lyrical poems are inspired by the cherished verse of Hafiz, one of the greatest Sufi poets of all time.

Perhaps more than any other Persian poet, it is Hafiz who most fully accesses the mystical, healing dimensions of verse. Daniel Ladinsky's poems are not translations in a literal sense. Rather than capture the form of a particular classical poem, Ladinsky has made it his life's work to create...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0140196234
• ISBN13: 9780140196238
• Release Date: January 2003
• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Length: 88 Pages
• Weight: 0.28 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 5.6" x 8.5"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

one of my favorite books

This was the 2nd collection of Daniel Ladinsky's translations of Hafiz that I read. As with "I Heard God Laughing," this one is gorgeous. Ladinsky translates Hafiz in a way that no one else manages to do, conveying his exuberance and outrageousness. What a place Hafiz can take you to, across time and culture, when he is translated as he deserves. This is another "must have" book.

Few Lovers Have Kissed Me Like This!

It is rare to find a book of poetry-or any book- that lifts the spirits and touches the heart as deeply as this one. Daniel Ladinsky's translations of the Sufi poet Hafiz are a unique blend of contempoary images and Persisan motifs that evoke scenes that readers will recognize in their own lives. Hafiz, Iran's most treasured poet, is known for an uncanny ability to speak directly to the reader's concerns.His poems have the ability to console the heart throbbing with longing or aching after a few hard knocks.I would especially recommend it for those bouts of Seasonal Affective Disorder that afflict many of us this time of year. I carried this book around with me on the subway during an especially cold winter in New York City and it seemed to transmit a warm, tingly feeling, like a glass of good wine, that warded off the intrusion of depressing thoughts. One poem in particuar was helpful which said; Don't surrender your loneliness So quickly Let it cut more deep. Let it ferment and season you As few human Or even divine ingredients can Something missing in my heart tonight Has made my eyes so soft, My voice So tender, My need of God Absolutely Clear. Only a wise old master like Hafiz could give advice like that, in a few choise words that are the equilavent in confort to hours of professional counseling or several trips to the spa. His poetry gives us an appreciation of the wonderful gifts of the soul that we all possess, but rarely take the trouble to access. This book would be a wonderful gift for anyone and especially for youself!.

Never a False Moment

Hafiz... each piece falls like rain,like buttery light,like a gentle knowing laugh and like quiet gems.. jeez... as a writer I am dumbfounded by his infallable heart and purely penetrative selection of the word.... I'd surely like to share my prayer mat with him when those days come to me....do not pass go folks... read it by candle light or thrum of rain while your lover looks on... or the silent room embraces you... hafiz is a master.

a wondrous anthology

this is one of the best collection of poems i have ever read. it helps to bring Hafiz's work to a wider audience.the best poem deals with ego and its annihilation. happy reading!

A beautiful reminder of our true "love quest"

The wisdom of a disciple of a living Master rings through this awe-filled version of Hafiz. It's obvious that one who has experienced first hand the miracle of a Master/Disciple relationship can write such beauty. Is this Hafiz' experience or your own, Daniel? You have reminded those who seek the "highest love affair" of all...