Divan of Bedil

DIVAN of BEDIL Translation & Introduction by Paul Smith. Mirza Abdul-Qader Bedil (1644-1721) is one of the most respected poets from Afghanistan. In the early 17th century, his family moved from Balkh to India, to live under the Mughal dynasty. He was born and educated near Patna. In his later life he spent time travelling and visiting ancestral lands. His writings in Persian are extensive, being one of the creators of the 'Indian style'. Bedil's 16 books of poetry contain nearly 147,000 couplets. With Ghalib he is considered a master of the complicated 'Indian Style' of the ghazal (over 150 pages are included here of ghazals). He had complicated views on the nature of God, heavily influenced by the Sufis. The correct rhyme-structure has been kept as well as the beauty and meaning of all of these beautiful and often mystical poems. This is the largest selection of his poems in the correct forms in English. Introduction on The Life and Times and Poetry of Bedil, Some of the Many Forms of Poems in Persian in which Bedil composed poems, Selected Bibliography. Large Print (14pt) Large Format Paperback 7" x 10" Pages... 277 COMMENTS ON PAUL SMITH'S TRANSLATION OF HAFEZ'S GHAZALS. "It is not a joke... the English version of ALL the ghazals of Hafez is a great feat and of paramount importance. I am astonished.." Dr. Mir Mohammad Taghavi (Dr. of Literature) Tehran."Superb translations. 99% Hafez 1% Paul Smith." Ali Akbar Shapurzman, translator of English to Persian and knower of Hafiz's Divan off by heart. "Smith has probably put together the greatest collection of literary facts and history concerning Hafiz." Daniel Ladinsky (Penguin Books author of his own poems inspired by Hafiz's ). Paul Smith (b.1945) is a poet, author and translator of many books of Sufi poets of Persian, Arabic, Urdu, Turkish and other languages including Hafez, Sadi, Nizami, Rumi, 'Attar, Sana'i, Jahan Khatun, Obeyd Zakani, Mu'in ud-din Chishti, Amir Khusrau, Nesimi, Kabir, Anvari, Ansari, Jami, Khayyam, Hallaj, Rudaki, Yunus Emre, Ghalib, 'Iraqi, Iqbal, Makhfi, Lalla Ded, Abu Nuwas, Ibn al-Farid, Rahman Baba, Nazir, Seemab, Jigar, Hali, Dard, Zauq and many others, as well as his own poetry, fiction, plays, biographies, children's books and a dozen screenplays. amazon.com/author/smithpa NEW HUMANITY BOOKS