irancc.com -- Maximizing the Power of Internet irancc --
The Solitude of Hafiz
US $40.00
Title: The Solitude of Hafiz
Publisher: Yassavoli Publications
Author: Alijan Alijanpour
Publication Date: First edition 1999
Language: English-Persian
76 Pages
Format: Hardbound, 28?8 cm
ISBN: 964-306-191-4
Price: US $40
It is two hundred years since the birth of Sir William Jones (1746-1794), the father of Persian studies in the west; one century and three quarters since the publication of "A Persian Song", his celebrated translation which introduced Hafez of Shiraz to the literary world of London and Europe. The present collection is thus a peculiarly opportune time to review what his successors have done in furthering the study and interpretation of this, the greatest poet of Persia. The selection now presented has been made with the double object of exhibiting the various aspects of Hafez' style and thought.
Included are nine ghazals (poems) translated into English by Sir H. Wilberforce Clark, followed by more than nine magnificent miniatures by the Master Iranian painter, Alijan Alijanpour, and the fine calligraphy by master Amirkhani.
One feature of Sir Clark's work that has definitely withstood the test of time remains to be mentioned: the translations. The Solitude of Hafiz abounds with specimens of his great skill in rendering Persian poetry into English verse which, though marked by the translator?s period in style and wording, are still extremely readable and provide as true an impression of the originals as this is possible at all. By this, he has best succeeded in the ultimate aim of his lifework: to act as an intermediary between the great culture of Persia and a modern readership.
