The Illuminated Hafiz: Love Poems for the Journey to Light

Author: Hafiz

Brand: Sounds True

Number Of Pages: 160

Details: About the Author

Hafiz of Shiraz (c.1315–1390) known as “The Tongue of the Hidden Mysteries, was a Persian poet and mystic whose life and works reached the height of spiritual attainment. Hafiz has influenced generations of renowned writers and artists in the East and West with his verse devoted to revealing the mysteries of human and divine passion on the path to union with God. ;

Michael Green is a fine artist who earned his BA at New York University and has devoted his career to creating works that evoke the contemplative and sacred traditions. He is the illustrator of the long-bestselling The Illuminated Rumi, The Illuminated Prayer, and many other books. He lives with his wife Saliha in Pennsylvania. For more, see michaelgreenarts.com.

Saliha Green studied fine art at Mount Holyoke College and horticulture at Barnes Arboretum School and Longwood Gardens, combining these arts as a garden designer for 30 years. In 2005, Saliha shifted her focus to digital art and began creating images to accompany the verses of Hafiz. She lives with her husband Michael in Pennsylvania. For more, see salihagreen.com.

Coleman Barks is a leading scholar and translator of the 13th-century Persian mystic Jelaluddin Rumi. In addition to publishing two books of his own poetry (The Juice and Gourd Seed), Barks has published 12 volumes of translations from Rumi and others, and contributed to over 20 anthologies. He taught literature at the University of Georgia for 30 years and currently lives in Athens, Georgia. For more, see colemanbarks.com.

Robert Bly is respected for his contributions both as a writer and as a teacher. Born in Minnesota to Norwegian parents, Bly was raised in a rural farming community. He joined the navy at age 18, and afterwards attended Harvard College. In 1968 Bly won the National Book Award for poetry. His landmark book, Iron John: A Book about Men, was on the New York Times bestseller list for over a year.

Product Description

Winner of the Nautilus Awards 2020 in Gold: Gift & Specialty

Vivid translations by Coleman Barks, Robert Bly, Omid Safi, Meher Baba, and others combine with Michael and Saliha Green’s stunning illustrations to bring the immortal poetry of the great Persian master Hafiz to life

“There is this matter
of the light in my eyes.

If you want to know the Friend,
don’t expect elegant arguments!

Demand a blessing
from one who gives you joy.”
―Hafiz (tr. Barks)

“Hafiz is without peer!” exclaimed Goethe. Known as “The Tongue of the Hidden Mysteries,” Shams al-Din Muhammad Hafiz of Shiraz is the most revered of Persian poets. When the Sun of Infinite Reality dawned in his being, he poured forth mystic verse so sublime it touched the hearts of kings and commoners alike.

Hafiz’s poems of intimate divine love spread through the East in his lifetime, then into the West, influencing such luminaries as Emerson, Brahms, Queen Victoria, Nietzsche, and Garcia Lorca. Today, nearly 700 years after his death, the unmatched genius and bold wit of Hafiz continues to ignite hearts and intoxicate souls everywhere.

The Illuminated Hafiz brings together vivid translations by Coleman Barks, Robert Bly, Omid Safi, Meher Baba, Peter Booth, and others with the luminous art of Michael and Saliha Green, weaving them into a stunning contemporary presentation in the tradition of classical Persian illuminated manuscripts and unveiling the mysteries of the path of love.

Come, raise a cup! Join with Hafiz and his incomparable love poems in a holy revel on the journey into light.

Review

“Savor every page of The Illuminated Hafiz. It will soothe your soul and heal the wounds inflicted by reason.” ―Deepak Chopra, MD

“In these fractious times when the beauty of Islam has been obscured by a haze of misunderstanding, this collection lifts a lineage of loving-kindness, passionate devotion and perfected wisdom back into the light. The poems of Hafiz, exquisitely translated here and illuminated with the transformative power of Persia

Release Date: 12-11-2019

Package Dimensions: 17x259x819