Abba Book:

Odes of Hafiz: Poetical Horoscope (English and Farsi Edition) Reviews:
A Good initial introduction to the Odes of Hafiz
2000-12-25 - This book is wonderful for anyone not already familiar with the Odes of Hafiz. English speakers will easily grasp the flow and tenor of the original poems, however, anyone who speaks Farsi may find it simplistic and slightly bastardized. The original text is an influential, multilayered and lyrical masterpiece, one of the most influential writers from Persia. For the uninitiated Westerner, other translations may prove too difficult to grasp the intent and historical context in which the original was written. This author does a wonderful job of preserving the tone of the original in this translation to English, and the reader will detect mockery towards the reigning clergy and hierarchy of the day, that resonates with the current events of modern Iran and the Western experience. Hafiz wrote an incredibly rich and entertaining story with fascinating characters, that is adequately preserved in this translation. Also, this book is great at cocktail parties to entertain your friends by divining the answers to personal queries and can be eerily accurate! Just like a Magic Eight ball, but far more fun, detailed and lively.

Not Up to the Challenge
2000-08-25 - This translation of Hafiz is at times almost incomprehensible. It is marred by an extremely poor use of English, and also by a futile, amateurish attempt to create rhyming patterns that mirror the original poetry. One gets the sense here and there that the author actually understands the poetry, but it doesn't come across in the translations at all. Translating Hafez has always been a challenge, and this book isn't up to it.

excellent translation of Hafiz (updated - see below)
2000-04-17 - This is an excellent translation into English of the difficult language, imagery and melodies of the great 14th c. Persian poet Hafiz (or Hafez). English and the Persian original are presented side by side on facing pages, which makes it an excellent tool for the bilingual students. A brief interpretation of each poem is presented which may be loosly used as a horoscope - in the traditional way the book of Hafiz is used to prognosticate important life events. But the best thing about the book is the translation: it is concise, precise, melodic, often rhyming, and about as close as one can get to the original. BTW the translator is Mr. Aryanpoor Kashani.

[update: july 2004] ok! perhaps i got carried away a little about this book. i can still recommend it for the beginner bilingual student and hafez enthusiast. however, i've recently found Paul Smith's translations to be far superior. i can also recommend (albeit hesitantly) Daniel Ladinsky's loose renditions -- for they are not translations -- for its imagery and fluidity.