The Garden of Heaven

I'm troubled (though not altogether surprised) by the previous reviewer's criticism of Gertrude Bell's translations of Hafiz by comparing them to the work of Daniel Ladinsky. I'm troubled because Daniel Ladinsky is not a translator of the poetry of Hafiz. Daniel Ladinsky writes all-new, all-original English-language poems but publishes them under the name of Hafiz rather than taking direct credit for them himself. But I'm not altogether surprised by the previous reviewer, because Daniel Ladinsky's poems are far more popular in the United States than the actual poems of Hafiz, and most people who read Daniel Ladinksy's poems are under the mistaken impression that they're reading translations of Hafiz. Gertrude Bell's translations may leave something to be desired. But at least they're actual translations of Hafiz.

This is the weirdest book! It was published in 1897 and it is now being replicated. The translation of the poems, one should not be too surprised, are basically in King James' Biblical English! She (Gertrude Bell, the author) actually uses the words "ye" and "thou" and "o'er"! The sensuality of Hafiz is thus systematically eliminated! Read Daniel Ladinsky's "The Subject Tonight Is Love" to see the difference. The introduction, on the other hand, is a delight, and it is worth the price of the book itself. It gives insight into the Victorian mindset, allowing one to triangulate a position in respect to the Divine, given the simultaneous thoughts of Hafiz in the 10th century, Bell in the 19th century, and the Beloved Reader in the 21th century!

The introduction by Gertrude Bell, a Hafiz translator and middle east diplomat in the 1920's, is included here and is particularly enjoyable.