New Translation of Hafez

Dick Davis was recently featured on the PBS NewsHour Weekly Poem Series to discuss his new publication: Faces of Love: Hafez and the Poets of Shiraz. Below is the link to the full article and its videos, as well as a few quotes from the accomplished translator:

"People say that Bach sort of gathered together everything that had gone before him in music and brought it into a new kind of stage. Hafez did the same with the conventions of lyric poetry." 

"One of the great things in Hafez's poetry is that it's extremely ambiguous often and that it can be read in different ways. His poetry can read in a secular way or in a religious ... that's the great problem with translating Hafez that you have this constant ambiguity and ambiguity is very difficult to transfer from one language to another."

"Different cultures put their energies into different arts at different times ... For example, you can think, painting in Italy or music in Germany, that kind of thing, but in the medieval period, the artistic energies of Iran went largely into poetry. And poetry has become part of the Persian cultural identity in a way that is true of very few other cultures."

PBS LINK:

A Poetic Odyssey: Dick Davis translates Hafez in "Faces of Love," his new installment in a life dedicated to medieval Persian literature

On Amazon:

http://amzn.com/0143107283

Shahnameh: The Epic of the Persian Kings

A new adaption of Iran's national epic known as the Shahnameh, or Book of Kings by the poet Ferdowsi, was recently published by Quantuck Lane Press with a revised translation. Its 300 illustrations have gotten a lot of attention since some of them took over 40 hours to complete. Using photoshop, the artist Hamid Rahmanian assembled digital collages drawing from several Persian manuscript paintings to combine the best of the best and enliven these stories reflecting Iran's mythical, heroic, and historical ages. The pre-order option is available on amazon.com and should be released sometime in May. Meanwhile, the Shahnameh's website is fun to explore and gives you a good sense of the project's aesthetic. 

Here is a video of the process:

Paradise Lost

As a final presentation for my Persian language course, I recently made a PowerPoint about Iran's diverse geography and landscape. I used several images from one of my favorite photography books-- Paradise Lost: Persia from Above by Georg Gerster. Between 1976 and 1978 (right before the Islamic revolution) Gerster was granted rare permission from Queen Farah Pahlavi to record the landscapes and cities of Persia through aerial photography. My favorite photos are those of old citadels and oases irrigated through qanats (see the last image). The title suggests that 'paradise' is lost because since 1979 no one has been able to document Iran's geography this thoroughly-- in fact, the only aerial imagery we see today from Iran are poor-quality photos of nuclear facilities. Several of Gerster's images also document many places that have been destroyed by earthquakes since the 70s-- making Gerster's project even more valuable. Highly recommended for anyone interested in Iranian history, agriculture, and art.

The word 'paradise' is derived from the the ancient Iranian word--'paridayda' in Old Persian (rendered 'parádeisos' in Ancient Greek) which was meant to describe an oasis or cultivated area. The ability to channel water into the deserts was indeed one of the most transformative engineering feats of ancient Iranians and was deemed sacred. The ancient gardens of Cyrus the Great were therefore called 'paridayda'. 

Shabaviz Publishing Company - Iran

Shabaviz Publishing, based in Tehran, is one of the most amazing children's book companies that I've ever encountered.  The artistic quality of their publications is phenomenal and frequently the recipient of many international book awards. Nearly all of Shabaviz's books are available for reading on the International Children's Digital Library website, where readers can zoom-in on the text of each page. I've read a few of their books with my Persian class at IU and with the aid of a dictionary, any student of Farsi can work through the texts. It's a great resource for learning idiomatic phrases and colloquial styles of narration. Here are a few of my favorite book covers to give you a sense of their creative spirit.

Blossoms

Shabaviz Covers

Guest House مهمان خانه

This evening I randomly opened to page 109 of the book, The Essential Rumi by Coleman Barks, which features one of Rumi's most celebrated poems titled: The Guest House. It's a short poem, but its message is significant-- embrace all experiences, both pleasant and unpleasant, as a guide from beyond.

This being human is a guest house.

Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,

some momentary awareness comes

as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!

Even if they're a crowd of sorrows,

who violently sweep your house

empty of its furniture,

still, treat each guest honorably.

He may be clearing you out

for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,

meet them at the door laughing,

and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,

because each has been sent

as a guide from beyond. 

New Books

It's time for some cooking and some reading! These are my latest Amazon.com orders:

Persian Cooking by Nesta Ramazani is a collection of 322 authentic recipes from one of the world's oldest culinary traditions. Persian cooking is based on vegetables, fruits, grains and meat used in subtle and varied combinations.

The Sultan's Kitchen by Ozcan Ozan contains over 130 tantalizing recipes, complete menu suggestions, and stunning images that will inspire any cook to create dishes fit for a sultan.

Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam translated by Peter Avery.

The Poems of Hafez translated by Reza Ordoubadian

A History of Iran: Empire of the Mind by Michael Axworthy

Amir Khusro: The Nightingale of India - Selected Persian Odes translated by Khalid Shaida

Me and Rumi: The Autobiography of Shams-I Tabrizi translated by William C. Chittick, forward by Annemarie Schimmel

The Rose Garden (Gulistan) of Saadi translated by Omar Ali Shah

Ghalib, the Indian Beloved: Urdu Odes translated by Khalid Shaida

The Essential Rumi translated by Coleman Barks and John Moyne