Faces of Love

Hafez and the Poets of Shiraz

By: Dick Davis, Hafez, Jahan Malek Khatun, Obayd-e Zakani

Narrated by: Dick Davis, Tala Ashe, Ramiz Monsef

Acclaimed translator Dick Davis breathes new life into the timeless works of three masters of 14th-century Persian literature

Together, Hafez, a giant of world literature; Jahan Malek Khatun, an eloquent princess; and Obayd-e Zakani, a dissolute satirist, represent one of the most remarkable literary flowerings of any era. All three lived in the famed city of Shiraz, a provincial capital of South-Central Iran, and all three drew support from arts-loving rulers during a time better known for its violence than its creative brilliance. Here Dick Davis, an award-winning poet widely considered "our finest translator of Persian poetry" (The Times Literary Supplement), presents a diverse selection of some of the best poems by these world-renowned authors and shows us the spiritual and secular aspects of love, in varieties embracing every aspect of the human heart.

"Davis [is] widely acknowledged as the leading translator of Persian literature in our time.... Faces of Love has made the Persian originals into real and moving English poems." (Michael Dirda, The Washington Post)

For more than 65 years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,500 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Listeners trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

This audiobook includes a downloadable PDF that contains notes from the book.

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©2013 Hafez (P)2021 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

A Choice Magazine Outstanding Academic Title for 2013

"Davis [is] widely acknowledged as the leading translator of Persian literature in our time…Faces of Love has made the Persian originals into real and moving English poems." (Michael Dirda, The Washington Post)

"Davis has done something I’d thought impossible: given us an Englished Hafez whose verses retain an intimation of what all the fuss is about...this anthology is a revelation." (Michael Robbins, The Chicago Tribune)

"Radiant.... Davis expertly elucidates the conventions these poets worked within and played against." (A. E. Stallings, The Times Literary Supplement Books of the Year)

Lovely, and as sweet as wine

Expressive narration befitting each poet, and a history lesson about the poets in the first part of the book. The translations still come off as rhymic, pleasant to the ear, and the wit is not lost (not that I am familiar with the originals- just that translating poetry can have poor results).

It almost felt too short... I am ready for more, but I suppose I cannot hope for new works from this trio, right? More time to reflect on what we have.

I am grateful for this production...Hafez's work has stuck out to me while many other poets have not, so to find out that this book was in production and then grab a copy... it felt a bit poetic in its own right. Not to place Hafez above the others... they all had their charm.

Breathtaking

These poems will literally give me chills. Dick Davis did an amazing job both translating and narrating these. I don’t speak Farsi so I must have an English translation, and this is the only good one I have found. Furthermore the narration adds an extra element of emotion, faithfulness, and feeling to the poems. I highly recommend

Very disappointed.

They put the most awful poetry besides real Hafiz poetry as if they were on the same level. I really expected this author to be more mature then allow all this creepy pedophile content to seep in. Using the archetypal poetic images of Persian poetry to describe disgusting stories is exactly the kind of cultural appropriation which is destroying the world today .