Ghazals Inspired by those of the Great Sufi Poets

GHAZALS INSPIRED BY THOSE OF THE GREAT SUFI POETS Paul Smith In 1974 Australian poet Paul Smith began a 12 year journey translating his acclaimed Divan of Hafiz (many ‘greats’ say the world’s finest poet). To do this he had to master in English the ancient form of the ghazal in which Hafiz was considered the ‘Master’. So, for the first time in the English language he composed his own ghazals in the real form and content (others had done variations on it) and would continue to do so for the following forty years, often inspired by Hafiz and many great Sufi poets that he would put into beautiful, correct rhyming English… all Master poets of this wonderful, mystical, most ancient and most difficult form of poetry. He would also create a number of books of Anthologies of the ghazal from Adam to the latest. Here are more than 230 of his own ghazals inspired by the first couplets of his translations of ghazals from the greatest Sufi Master Poets from Hazrat ‘Ali (598-661) to Iqbal (1873-1938). Introduction on the ghazal in all languages. Selected Bibliography. Large Format Paperback 7” x 10” 265 pages. COMMENTS ON PAUL SMITH’S TRANSLATION OF HAFIZ’S ‘DIVAN’. “It is not a joke... the English version of ALL the ghazals of Hafiz is a great feat and of paramount importance..” Dr. Mir Mohammad Taghavi (Dr. of Literature) Tehran. “Superb translations. 99% Hafiz 1% Paul Smith.” Ali Akbar Shapurzman, translator in English into Persian and knower of Hafiz’s Divan off by heart. “I was very impressed with the beauty of these books.” Dr. R.K. Barz. Faculty of Asian Studies, Australian National University. “Smith has probably put together the greatest collection of literary facts and history concerning Hafiz.” Daniel Ladinsky (Penguin Books author). Paul Smith is a poet, author and translator of many books of Sufi poets of the Persian, Arabic, Urdu, Turkish and other languages… including Hafiz, Sadi, Nizami, Rumi, ‘Attar, Sana’i, Obeyd Zakani, Nesimi, Kabir, Anvari, Ansari, Jami, Khayyam, Rudaki, Yunus Emre, Baba Farid, Mu’in, Lalla Ded, Mahsati and many others and his own poetry, fiction, plays, biographies, children’s books and a dozen screenplays. www.newhumanitybooks.com