The Gift | 
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| Editorial Review / Publisher's Information:
Book Description
An extraordinary new translation of the world-renowned mystic poet Hafiz.
More than any other Persian poet--even Rumi--Hafiz expanded the mystical, healing dimensions of poetry. Because his poems were often ecstatic love songs from God to his beloved world, many have called Hafiz the "Invisible Tongue." Indeed, Daniel Ladinsky, the accomplished translator of this volume, has said that his work with Hafiz is an attempt to do the impossible: to translate Light into words--to make the Luminous Resonance of God tangible to our finite senses.
With this stunning collection of 250 of Hafiz's most intimate poems, Ladinsky has succeeded brilliantly in translating the essence of one of Islam's greatest poetic and religious voices. Each line of The Gift imparts the wonderful qualities of this master Sufi poet and spiritual teacher: encouragement, an audacious love that touches lives, profound knowledge, generosity, and a sweet, playful genius unparalleled in world literature.
Amazon.com
Hafiz, a secret Sufi, came to prominence in his day as a writer of love poems. That love transformed into an all-consuming passion for union with the divine. In The Gift, Daniel Ladinsky bestows on us the impassioned yet whimsical strains of Hafiz's ecstasy. Never forced or awkward, Ladinsky's Hafiz whispers in your ear and pounds in your chest, naming God in a hundred metaphors. I once asked a bird,
"How is it that you fly in this gravity
Of darkness?"
She responded,
"Love lifts
Me." Like Fitzgerald's version of Khayyam's Rubaiyat, the language of The Gift strikes a contemporary chord, resonating in the reader's mind and then in the heart. Ladinsky's language is plain, fresh, playful--dancing with an expert cadence that invites and surprises. If it is true, as Hafiz says, that a poet is someone who can pour light into a cup, reading Ladinsky's Hafiz is like gulping down the sun. --Brian Bruya
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Customer Reviews:
• Pure Love In A Form Of Poetry 08 July, 2008
May be like others pointed out it is not a word for word translation, but the book is ecstatic!!!!
You can see GOD = LOVE and LOVE = GOD
You can feel the presence of it all and my soul's wings grew every day while reading it.
If this book elevates you, then this is probably all what Hafiz intended, who cares that it is not a literal translation. This book is the essence of LOVE, could Hafiz mean something else?
It definitely has a SUFI spirit! It shows this live is a miracle we just need to be able to see it.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A278GKF3OKWBRB
• Hafiz' "the Gift" 12 July, 2008
This collection of poems is perhaps the best of Hafiz, and what makes them really come alive is the brilliant, creative translation by Daniel Ladinsky. He uses modern language -- and it works to almost magical effect. There's also a lot of humor in these poems, mixed in with the spiritual insight. This book is a keeper!
- Reviewed by customer ID: A2PSYOCEEUFVCE
• A Joke? 29 May, 2008
This book must be a joke as no one except an opportunist of the worst variety would dare to claim that their poetry is an authentic translation of the work of one of the worlds great poets. The author claims to be a translator - I suppose in the vein of Coleman Barks who also has no knowledge of Arabic languages - at least Bark's poetry is readable, this book is not.
Save your money.
- Reviewed by customer ID: AQRZ0A75053WY
• Beautiful And Celebratory Poetry 31 October, 2007
Only knowing Hafiz, through this book I am not in a position to judge whether the book does him justice or whether too much of the tranlator's own poetical and mystical nature has come into play. What I can say is, that I truly enjoyed reading it as many of the poems appealed to my heart and provoked some reflection of what we do. Like this short poem called "Find a better job":
Now
That
All your worry
Has proven such an
Unlucrative
Business,
Why
Not
Find a better
Job
- Reviewed by customer ID: A32RDQQ47DSMYD
• The Gift Unreceived 11 November, 2007
The Gift by Hafiz is a wonderful book and an extraordinary translation. I only hope that the copy I ordered from Amazon actually arrives at some stage so I am can return my friends copy. The refund was fine but actually getting the book would be infinitely preferable. Thanks for the opportunity to share Amazon. Kevin Farrow
- Reviewed by customer ID: A3FUI3HQSBIR9D
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