Including the complete collaborative poems of Sheila E. Murphy and the late Michelle Greenblatt; three free-verse poems and 59 American ghazals. With a Foreword by Vincent A. Cellucci.

THE GHAZAL A World Anthology Translations & Introductions by Paul Smith CONTENTS: The Ghazal in Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Urdu, Punjabi, Sindhi, Kashmiri & English Poetry... 7 GLOSSARY... 11 THE POETS... Hazrat Ali 25, Rabi'a of Basra 26, Dhu'l-Nun 29, Mansur al-Hallaj 31, Khusravani 34, Shahid 35, Manjik 36, Rudaki 36, Rabi'a Balkhi 39, Daqiqi 42, Kisa'i 44, Firdausi 45, Unsuri 48, Baba Kuhi 50, Qatran 51, Mas'ud Sa'd 52, Mu'izzi 55, Sana'i 59, Sabir 61, Mahsati 64, Falaki 66, Jabali 70, Vatvat 72, Anvari 73, Hasan Ghaznavi 78, Suzani 82, Athir 85, Jamal al-din 89, Mujir 92, Khaqani 96, Zahir 93, Nizami 105, 'Attar 108, Kamal ud-din 119, Ibn al-Farid 120, Ibn 'Arabi 123, Rumi 127, Imami 140, Sadi 141, Hamgar 169, 'Iraqi 170, Humam 176, Yunus Emre 178, Amir Khusrau 177, Hasan Dilhavi 198, Auhadi 208, Ibn Yamin 210, Khaju 211, Obeyd Zakani 216, Emad 224, Salman 218, Azad 235, Hafiz 238, Ruh Attar 271, Haydar 276, Junaid Shirazi 280, Kadi Burhan-ud-din 284, Jahan Khatun 287, Kamal 305, Maghribi 307, Nesimi 315, Bushaq 324, Shah Ni'matullah 335, Ahmedi 336, Sheykhi 340, Kasim Anwar 342, Jami 345, Baba Fighani 357, Babur 361, Ahmed Pasha 362, Mihri 365, Zeyneb 368, Jem 370, Necati 373, Zati 376, Pir Sultan 380, Khayali 383, Kamran 389, Fuzuli 390, Huda'i 399, Kahi 401, Baqi 402, Urfi 407, Yahya 409, Qutub Shah 413, Mirza 415, Haleti 425, Sa'ib 426, Na'ili 428, Niyazi 430, Khushal 433, Ashraf Khan 446, Makhfi 451, Nabi 478, Bedil 480, Abdul-Khadir 483, Rahman Baba 490, Khwaja Mohammad 503, Hamid 512, Wali 520, Nedim 524, Mushtaq 527, Ali Haider 528, Fitnet 530, Sauda 534, Dard 536, Ahmad Shah 539, Shaida 445, Nazir 551, Mir 557, Sachal Sarmast 563, Galib 567, Esrar Dede 573, Lelya Khanim 575, Mahmud Gami 576, Aatish 578, Zauq 581, Ghalib 583, Momin 589, Tahirah 592, Shad 599, Iqbal 602, Ashgar 607, Mahjoor 609, Jigar 613, Huma 617, Veysel 634, Firaq 628, Josh 632, Parvin 634, Rahi 640, Faiz 641, Simin 643, Paul 645. Pages 658. COMMENTS ON PAUL SMITH'S FIRST VERSION 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. I am astonished." Dr. Mir Mohammad Taghavi (Dr. of Literature) Tehran. "Superb translations. 99% Hafiz 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). Paul Smith is a poet, author and translator of over 80 books of Sufi poets of Persian, Arabic, Urdu, Turkish and other languages including Hafiz, Sadi, Nizami, Rumi, 'Attar, Sana'i, Jahan Khatun, Obeyd Zakani, Mu'in, Amir Khusrau, Nesimi, Kabir, Anvari, Ansari, Jami, Khayyam, Hallaj, Rudaki, Yunus Emre, Lalla Ded, Mu'in, Majnun, Mahsati and many others, as well as his own poetry, fiction, plays, biographies, kids books and a dozen screenplays.

As an Iranian American poet, Roger Sedarat fuses Western and Eastern traditions to reinvent the classical Persian form of the ghazal. For its humor as well as its spirituality, the poems in this collection can perhaps best be described as “Wallace Stevens meets Rumi.” Perhaps most striking is the poet’s use of the ancient ghazal form in the tradition of the classical masters like Hafez and Rumi to politically challenge the Islamic Republic of Iran’s continual crackdown on protesters. Not since the late Agha Shahid Ali has a poet translated the letter as well as the spirit of this form into English, using musicality and inventive rhyme to extend the reach of the ghazal in a new language and tradition.

The finest ghazals of Mir Taqi Mir, the most accomplished of Urdu poets. The prolific Mir Taqi Mir (1723–1810), widely regarded as the most accomplished poet in Urdu, composed his ghazals—a poetic form of rhyming couplets—in a distinctive Indian style arising from the Persian ghazal tradition. Here, the lover and beloved live in a world of extremes: the outsider is the hero, prosperity is poverty, and death would be preferable to the indifference of the beloved. Ghazals offers a comprehensive collection of Mir’s finest work, translated by a renowned expert on Urdu poetry.

44 pages of intensely layered visual poems and textual art, including an afterword explaining David E. Matthews' unique vispo philosophy and technique.