Faces of Love: Hafez and the Poets of Shiraz (Penguin Classics Deluxe Editio)

No understanding of world mythology is complete without acquaintance with Rostam, Iran?s most celebrated mythological hero. According to the Shahnameh (the tenth-century Book of Kings), this titan, magnificent in strength and courage, bestrode Persia for 500 years. While he often served fickle kings?undergoing many trials of combat, cunning, and endurance?he was never their servant and owed allegiance only to his nation?s greater good. Anyone interested in folklore, world literature, or Iranian culture will find Rostam both a rousing and illuminating read.

The selected adventures of Persia?s Hercules, from Iran?s great national epic

No understand ing of world mythology is complete without acquaintance with Rostam, Iran?s most celebrated mythological hero. According to the Shahnameh (the tenth-century Book of Kings), this titan, magnificent in strength and courage, bestrode Persia for 500 years. While he often served fickle kings?undergoing many trials of combat, cunning, and endurance?he was never their servant and owed allegiance only to his nation?s greater good. Anyone interested in folklore, world literature, or Iranian culture will find Rostam both a rousing and illuminating read.

Together, Hafez, a giant of world literature; Jahan Malek Khatun, an eloquent princess; and Obayd-e Zakani, a dissolute satirist, represent one of the most remarkable literary flowerings of any era. All three lived in the famed city of Shiraz, a provincial capital of south-central Iran, and all three drew support from arts-loving rulers during a time better known for its violence than its creative brilliance. Here Dick Davis, an award-winning poet widely considered “our finest translator of Persian poetry” (The Times Literary Supplement), presents a diverse selection of some of the best poems by these world-renowned authors and shows us the spiritual and secular aspects of love, in varieties embracing every aspect of the human heart.

Renowned for his poignant renderings of Hafiz’s mystical texts, Daniel Ladinsky captures the beauty, intimacy, and musicality of another of Islam’s most beloved poets and spiritual thinkers. In collaboration here with Nancy Owen Barton, and with learned insight and a delicate touch, they explore the nuances of desire—that universal emotion—in verse inspired by Rumi’s love and admiration for his companion and spiritual teacher, Shams-e Tabriz. These poems thoughtfully capture the compelling wisdom of one of Islam’s most revered artistic and religious voices and one of the most widely read poets in the English language.

Abolqasem Ferdowsi was born in Khorasan in a village near Tus in 940. His great epic, Shahnameh, was originally composed for the Samanid princes of Khorasan. Ferdowsi died around 1020 in poverty.

Dick Davis is currently professor of Persian at Ohio State University and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. His translations from Persian include The Lion and the Throne, Fathers and Sons, Sunset of Empire: Stories from the Shahnameh of Ferdowsi, Vols. I, II, III.

Introduction

The Conference of the Birds

Biographical Index