Poetry. Middle East Studies. Bilingual Edition translated from the Persian by Mahmood Karimi-Hakak and Bill Wolak. "The poetry of Hafez is pleasing, magical wine that allows you to become exactly as drunk as you desire every time you taste it. Whether the transport you seek is the frenzy of wild intoxication or merely the slightest unleashing of inhibitions, Hafez is the master of magnaminity, tamer of tensions, initiator of intimacy, and mentor of the unconventional. But always, Hafez is the poet who investigates the confusing contingencies of human relationships. He understands how desire urges us along an uncertain path. Hafez lives on the lips of illiterates, in the singing of professional entertainers, as well as in the tomes of specialists. His poems are emergencies. They startle, confound, yet resonate. Reading Hafez is like suddenly hearing an ambulance siren over your shoulder in a crowded street or the whispered advice of your best friend in your ear alone. The translation abounds with beautifully wrought and complexly conceived images. And this, to my mind, highlights the unique achievement of this particular set of translations. Not only is the language exquisitely wrought, but the profundity of Hafez's mystical insights are equally well-wrought. This is not an easy feat when translating from Persian to English"--Phillip Cioffari.

About the author: Hafez was born in Shiraz sometime between 1310 CE and 1337 CE with the year 1320 CE the most likely. His full name was Khwajeh Shams al-Din Mohammed Hafez-e Shirazi. His father, Baha-ud-Din, was a successful merchant from Isfahan who settled in Shiraz and died there when Hafez was a very young child. In any case, Hafez undoubtedly received a thorough religious education, probably from listening to the recitations of the Qu'ran, as his pen name Hafez derives from the Arabic honorific from Hafiz, which is awarded to anyone who has accomplished the achievement of memorizing the entire Qu'ran. Hafez is the most beloved lyric poet of the Persian poetic tradition. His ghazals, unequaled in their subtlety, refinement, and eloquence, have had a lasting influence on subsequent Persian poetry. The richness of his imagery and the intricate musicality of his lines combine to produce a poetry of inimitable eclat. Hafez's mastery of form and his verbal virtuosity are what make his poetry so irresistible. Most scholars agree that Hafez died in Shiraz at the age of sixty-nine in 1389 CE.