Luxury Vacations, Luxury Cruises, Luxury Travel, Luxury Tours, Luxury Cruise Ships  

Luxury Vacation, Luxury Travel, Luxury Tours, Luxury Cruises Guide  

Virtuoso Luxury Vacations, Travel, Tours, and Cruise Specialists  

Luxury Vacations, Tours and Cruises  
 Search
 Advanced View Cart   Checkout   
 Location:  Home» All Books » Literature & Fiction: Poetry: General » The Gift  
Categories
All Books
African Islands
Asian Islands
Caribbean Islands
European Islands
Central American Islands
Middle Eastern Islands
North American Islands
South American Islands
South Pacific Islands
Atlases & Maps
Island Cuisine
Swimsuits
Subcategories
Single Authors
British & Irish
Continental European
United States
Sufism
Rumi, Mevlana Jalaleddin
Paperback
Mass Market
Trade
Top Destinations
Big Island, Hawaii
Fraser Island, Australia
Sicily, Italy
Bora Bora, French Polynesia
Iceland, Europe
Santorini, Greece
Malta Island, Malta
Phuket, Thailand
Maldives, Indian Ocean
Bermuda, The Caribbean
Quick Links
Travelwizard: Luxury Vacations
Travel Booking Engine
Eat Caribbean & More
Guidebook Series
Honeymoon Destinations
Maps
Related Categories
• Literature & Fiction: Poetry: General
General
Archive
• Religion & Spirituality: Islam: Sufism: General
General
Archive
• Inspirational & Religious
Poetry
Literature & Fiction
• Single Authors
Poetry
Literature & Fiction
• Middle Eastern
Poetry
Literature & Fiction

The Gift

The Gift

enlarge enlarge 
Author: Hafiz
Creator: Daniel Ladinsky
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Category: Book

List Price: $16.00
Buy Used: $6.88
You Save: $9.12 (57%)



Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars 74 reviews
Sales Rank: 4588

Media: Paperback
Edition: Gift
Pages: 352
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.5 x 1

ISBN: 0140195815
Dewey Decimal Number: 891.5511
EAN: 9780140195811
ASIN: 0140195815

Publication Date: August 1, 1999
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: Inventory subject to prior sale. Used items have varying degrees of wear, highlighting, etc. and may not include supplements such as infotrac or other web access codes. Expedited orders cannot be sent to PO Box. Sorry, not able to ship to APO, FPO, Alaska, and Hawaii.

Editorial Reviews:

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


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.



Customer Reviews:   Read 69 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars Hafiz' "The Gift"   July 12, 2008
Roger W. Paine III (Lincoln, MA)
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!


5 out of 5 stars Pure LOVE in a form of poetry   July 8, 2008
Biku (NYC)
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.



1 out of 5 stars A Joke?   May 29, 2008
Bill L. (Maine)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful

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.



5 out of 5 stars The Gift unreceived   November 11, 2007
K. Farrow (Sydney)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful

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


5 out of 5 stars Beautiful and celebratory poetry   October 31, 2007
Aeneas
10 out of 10 found this review helpful

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


 
Luxury Vacation Info

Are you ready for your next luxury vacation? Let Travelwizard experts take care of all the details.

The best available price is our starting point. Then we add value through complimentary excursions, amenities, or services.

TravelWizard.com can get you the room, or suite, condo or villa you want, when others can't.

We have tons of money saving specials: free nights, free meals, room upgrades, and wonderful inclusions such as free golf and spa visits.

Free car with a 7 night stay at 40 different hotels, or receive a credit of $199 value, and apply it to another car category.

We work with every airline, so you can choose the airline you prefer. You get frequent flyer miles on most of them.

We can get you discount first class, or business class tickets.

You can book your activities ahead of time to assure peace of mind.

How do we do it? Simple. We leverage our tremendous buying power!

Exclusive TravelWizard Hot Deals

Email this page to a friend

Bookmark this page

Powered by MarketFlare. In association with Amazon.