A Year with Hafiz: Daily Contemplations

by Hafez, Daniel Ladinsky (Introduction)

Daniel Ladinsky’s stunning interpretations of 365 soul-nurturing poems—one for each day of the year—by treasured Persian lyric poet Hafiz

The poems of Hafiz are masterpieces of sacred poetry that nurture the heart, soul, and mind. With learned insight and a delicate hand, Daniel Ladinsky explores the many emotions addressed in these verses. His renderings, presented here in 365 poignant poems — including a section based on the interpretations of Hafiz by Ralph Waldo Emerson—capture the compelling wisdom of one of the most revered Sufi poets. Intimate and often spiritual, these poems are beautifully sensuous, playful, wacky, and profound, and provide guidance for everyday life, as well as deep wisdom to savor through a lifetime.

Genres: Poetry, Spirituality, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Religion, Iran, Literature

448 pages, Paperback

First published May 30, 2011

About the author

Hāfez (حافظ) (Khwāja Shams-ud-Dīn Muḥammad Ḥāfeẓ-e Shīrāzī) was a Persian poet whose collected works (The Divan) are regarded as a pinnacle of Persian literature and are to be found in the homes of most people in Iran, who learn his poems by heart and still use them as proverbs and sayings.

His life and poems have been the subject of much analysis, commentary and interpretation, influencing post-14th century Persian writing more than any other author

Themes of his ghazals are the beloved, faith, and exposing hypocrisy. His influence in the lives of Persian speakers can be found in "Hafez readings" (fāl-e hāfez, Persian: فال حافظ‎‎) and the frequent use of his poems in Persian traditional music, visual art, and Persian calligraphy. His tomb is visited often. Adaptations, imitations and translations of his poems exist in all major languages.

Though Hafez is well known for his poetry, he is less commonly recognized for his intellectual and political contributions. A defining feature of Hafez' poetry is its ironic tone and the theme of hypocrisy, widely believed to be a critique of the religious and ruling establishments of the time. Persian satire developed during the 14th century, within the courts of the Mongol Period. In this period, Hafez and other notable early satirists, such as Ubayd Zakani, produced a body of work that has since become a template for the use of satire as a political device. Many of his critiques are believed to be targeted at the rule of Amir Mobarez Al-Din Mohammad, specifically, towards the disintegration of important public and private institutions. He was a Sufi Muslim.

His work, particularly his imaginative references to monasteries, convents, Shahneh, and muhtasib, ignored the religious taboos of his period, and he found humor in some of his society's religious doctrines. Employing humor polemically has since become a common practice in Iranian public discourse and persian satire is now perhaps the de facto language of Iranian social commentary.


شمس الدین محمد، حافظ شیرازی، ملقب به حافظ و لسان الغیب
مشهورترین و محبوبترین شاعر تاریخ زبان فارسی و ادبیات ایران
حوالی سال ۷۲۶ هجری قمری در شیراز متولد شد. علوم و فنون را در محفل درس برترین استادان زمان فراگرفت و در علوم ادبی عصر پایه‌ای رفیع یافت. خاصه در علوم فقهی و الهی تأمل بسیار کرد و قرآن را با چهارده روایت مختلف از برداشت. پژوهشگران احتمال می‌دهند همین دلیل باعث شده لقب او حافظ شود. حافظ مسلمان و شیعه مذهب بود و در وادی سلوک و طریقت، عرفان خاص خود را داشت. دیوان اشعار او شامل غزلیات، چند قصیده، چند مثنوی، قطعات و رباعیات است. اما در شعر آنچه بیش از همه او را دست نیافتنی کرده است غزل‌های حافظ است. حافظ در سال ۷۹۲ هجری قمری در شیراز درگذشت. آرامگاه او در حافظیهٔ شیراز زیارتگاه صاحبنظران و عاشقان شعر و ادب پارسی است. او همواره و
همچنان برای ادبیات پس از خود الهام‌بخش و تاثیرگذار بوده است

شعرِ حافظ در زمان آدم اندر باغ خُلد
دفترِ نسرین و گُل را زینتِ اوراق بود

Reviews

[Rachel · Rating 1 out of 5]

When I first bought this I had no idea that the author had taken liberties with the translations to try and make them more hip and contemporary. Batting averages and prom queens do not belong in Hafiz poems. Just, no.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

From: YOU WILL HAVE TO FACTOR ME IN

The way a river's strength may move one in its
current, so does my gaze or wish.

What the rain can do for a well, so can the
language from an illumined heart.

When I woke up I found existence rented its
space from me.

The poems in this collection are nuanced, seemingly simple. There is something made mystical about life, about love. In these lines there is a deep reverence for natural beauty, for the subconscious mind. The language is expressed in a way that makes the reader surrender to interpretation, as there is something within that guides.

The contemplative nature made me pick this collection off a shelf as I walked from a coffee shop with a friend and into the bookshop to escape the pouring rain. I'm not sure this is the best translation for this renowned Persian poet and I'm also unsure whether the beats have been rendered properly; however, it seems to be the best translation available right now (I could be wrong). Daniel Ladinsky wrote his "first version of a Hafiz poem working from a literal English tradition" and he managed to reproduce Hafiz's ghazals.

Hafiz, a court poet and professor, was once forced to leave his native Shiraz. He lived in poverty while in exile, and during the disfunction, his wife and son passed away. So his poems, although laced with love, also have separation and sadness effaced. What is special is how daily ruminations are turned into poetry.

[Hoda Marmar · Rating 1 out of 5]

Can't read no further. This is not Hafiz. This is a modern slang adaptation of what should be much more meaningful, much deeper, and actually Sufi.
This book sucks :(

[Miroku Nemeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hafiz is one of the greatest poets. Ever. Love, illumination, intoxication. Some beautiful poems in this collection.


While there is much to be appreciated in the work, there are many parts where Ladinsky has been so free with his contemporary "interpretation" that it is actually insulting to both Hafiz, Muslims, and the Sufis or at least he does not adhere to what is authentically in the original text.

For example, in "Lie Around and Get Zonked Out", he writes:

God in human form, as some call the Avatar--
or World Teacher--seemingly could have easily
shown us some tasty herb cocktails.
(98)

Many of the modern referents from the adapter or whatever one wants to call Ladinsky are very much subjective and it is difficult to make any connection to the actual works of Hafiz at all with what is on the page. He even has a poem called "That Cute Hebrew" that has been shaped to center upon Albert Einstein (repeatedly) (145)....

Flying saucers, a UFO, traffic jams, a forklift, Geiger counter, etc.

He mentions "gods", Buddha, ashrams, the "son of God" in a way that is very much outside of the Islamic tradition and colors Hafiz's work as it should not be colored.


I mention this as a warning so one can read the text as it is now--not necessarily the authentic Hafiz, but still very beautiful and very inspiring.

[Ayah · Rating 1 out of 5]

These poems are not translated works, they are clearly written or re-written by Ladinsky. The poems "What the Prom Queen Gets" and "Watch Out for Spiritual La-la Land" solidified the fact that these are not poems written by a great Sufi mystic. This white dude decided to imitate and pass off his own poetry, as if they were translations and actually written by Hafiz. I just wanted to read some good poetry from one of the greatest Persian poets and bask in the beauty of the language and spiritual insights he has to offer. I also wanted to read something written from the Middle East so I can connect to my own heritage and culture. Do you know how tiring it is not being able to read anything by people who share the same religion and cultural background as you? I've mainly read works by western authors and just wanted to enjoy something from the east for a change. Instead, I got more of the same type of "spiritual" poems privileged white men have been writing for decades. White people; just stop "translating" works by ethnic people or writing stories about us if you're not going to do it right. Tfoo!!

[Bahar · Rating 1 out of 5]

What an absolute joke.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a lot of pages dog-eared in this book. In every month, there are at least one or two poems that I really enjoyed and connected with. One in particular I kept going back to, and it brought tears to my eyes every time. However, the other poems didn't reach me as much as the relatively few I have marked. I read many of them and just moved on to the next one, not feeling the need to linger. Others, I just didn't like or even "get" at all. After reading one of the final poems, I think I would like more traditional translations of Hafiz's work more than Ladinsky's overly-playful, modernized "renderings." I thought some were really clever and worked really well, but others just went too far for me. As a Christian, I also found it hard to get past the conflation of religious and sexual ecstasy. I know this is a conceit in other poets' works, like John Donne, who sexualized religious poems and vice versa, but the way Hafiz/Ladinsky merged the two made me uncomfortable and led to my skipping a good number of poems that started out awkwardly.
Overall, I enjoyed this book and want to hold onto it. The poems that resonated with me really resonated with me, and I'd like to look back at them. I even tweeted one that stuck out to me that I thought could help others. I would definitely share my favorites with other people, too. I recommend this book of poems to people who enjoy mystical poetry and poetry that, like Walt Whitman's, makes connections between nature, God, and man and considers it all divine.

[India M. Clamp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wondrous writing---as if penned by Neruda.

[Lauren Davis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I suspect the translator might be a decent poet in his own right, but the liberties he's taken with Hafiz, in an attempt to make him modern, are awful. Shudder.

[David Crumm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love Rumi? Meet Hafiz. And, turn, turn through a year.

No less a giant of American literature than Ralph Waldo Emerson called Hafiz “the prince of Persian poets,” so Hafiz’s poetry certainly is no flash-in-the-pan discovery. He’s not as famous as the great Rumi, who these days journalists describe as “the world’s best-selling poet in English.” If you’re reading this review, you almost certainly know a bit about Rumi’s short, mystical poems with spiritual yearnings that often seem to ache long after you’ve finished reading his words. Well, if you have come to appreciate that general style of poetry, then you’ll find Hafiz another delightfully scented breeze from the East.

Rumi’s many lines on love tend to wind up in greeting cards, calendars, posters and other media designed to lift one’s spirits and express one’s love for others. Of course, Rumi’s range was far larger than thoughts of love. To explore the grand vistas of Rumi’s work, I highly recommend Coleman Barks’ Big Red Book.

Hafiz, in this new collection from Daniel Ladinsky and Penguin, comes to us fully flowered in 365 selections. For Emerson, and many other Hafiz fans down through the centuries, the attraction in Hafiz’s works is a relentless quest for his own spiritual voice. Especially in these English-language renderings of Hafiz by Ladinsky, Hafiz comes across as downright defiant and sometimes darkly funny in that quest for truth, wherever that journey might lead.

If you’re confused by his one-word name in the book’s title, it’s possible that you’ve run across him as Hafez, another way of transliterating the Arabic into English. His full name and title sometimes is given as: Khawaja (Master) Shamsu d-Din Muhammad Hafez-e Shirazi (meaning that he was born in Shiraz, which today is in Iran). He lived and died in the 14th Century. (Rumi was 13th Century.) You may recognize that Hafiz, the core of his name, is the same word used to refer to someone who has memorized the entire Quran. He accomplished that feat, but little historical detail can be documented about his life.

In the 19th Century, Emerson wrote that one of Hafiz’s greatest gifts was “his intellectual liberty, which is a certificate of profound thought. We accept the religions and politics into which we fall; and it is only a few delicate spirits who are sufficient to see that the whole web of convention is the imbecility of those whom it entangles—that the mind suffers no religion and no empire but its own. It indicates this respect to absolute truth by the use it makes of the symbols that are most stable and revered, and therefore is always provoking the accusation of irreligion.”

More than a century after Emerson wrote that assessment of Hafiz’s spiritual appeal, that passage still stands up as a good summary of Hafiz’s appeal. If you’ve tasted Rumi and you’re restless for more from this branch of global culture—then spend a year with Hafiz. Sure, the daily entries all are marked with dates on the calendar, but start your year anywhere and circle back around. Rumi, Hafiz and their friends would smile at the turning.
The Big Red Book

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

I resolved on January 9th, 2013 to spend my own year with Hafiz: I would read and contemplate one poem from this book everyday, and even make pencil marks in the margins. That resolution lasted all the way to January 17th, when I read "Watch out for spiritual la-la land": the imagery of traffic jams on the highway and oral sex really threw me off.

I hadn't realized before then that Ladinsky had been so liberal in his translations of the Hafiz classics. Frankly, what I had taken from the 9th through the 17th to be erudite and semi-opaque turned immediately into junk. I lost all appetite for reading the collection.

Why do I give two stars instead of 1? I did derive some benefit from the self-contemplation that the poems facilitated; any poem or prose will allow this when approached in the right manner. Thus the reading was not a waste of my time: just a misuse.

[Andrada · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've said before how, regardless of the translator, something of Hafez's spirit tends to permeate his poems in English. Well, Hafez felt wholly absent from this collection which is ironic I suppose given the title of the book. What you do get is the cringe-inducing "renderings" of Daniel Ladinsky which are anachronistic and often filled with a self-aggrandizing smugness. Some poems also oddly sexualize the relationship with God and others are just plain irreverent.

I hoped the poems would improve and there were only a few bad apples in it (I did enjoy Landisky's translations in The Gift) which is why I soldiered on until the end, but there was no such improvement. These are the writings of an American poet putting his own "awakened" ideas into Hafez-style poems. A waste of time and an insult to the writings of Hafez.

[Faraz Forghanparast · Rating 1 out of 5]

An absolute, disrespectful disgrace. A mishmash of completely irrelevant strings of cheap 'poetry', which has only used the name of Hafez for marketing purposes. There is nothing of Hafez, of mysticism, or even the deep love in the form.

Batting 900?! Please.

[Mommalibrarian · Rating 1 out of 5]

https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opi...

[Jemma TheTravelingBookLover · Rating 1 out of 5]

The author did not keep the translations as accurate as the real poems, instead trying to make them more hip and modern so that it lost the meaning entirely

[Paula Kuklane · Rating 1 out of 5]

D. Ladinsky's approach to Hafiz's work is very loose and " contemporary ". These are not translations of Hafiz's poems, but rather the author's own interpretation of them.

[David Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Daniel Ladinsky does a brilliant job complilng and interpreting these classic poems from Hafiz. I choose a daily reading book of poems every year, and this is the most enjoyable of all I have read. While wise and insightful, Hafiz will be remembered by me primarily for his sense of humor, often self deprecating, which he uses liberally to highlight our human condition.

From December 30th:

"Out of a great need we are holding hands and climbing.
Not loving is a letting go.
Listen, the terrain around here is
far too steep and dangerous for that."

[Nancy McKinley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author states in the introduction that there are many paths to Hafiz, as in the many ways this Persian poet's work can be interpreted and translated. Hafiz's wonderful poetry contains double meanings and Daniel Ladinsky's take on it is superb.

Ladinsky himself resides in the pages along with Hafiz himself. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this clever poetry written with a slight edge and an off-the-wall wit.

This was my second Hafiz book, having read "The Gift". I am planning on a third.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been reading a poem each day this year, and it's been one of the highlights of my reading. I was first introduced to the Sufi mystics in a history of Islam class in college, and I really liked their spiritual exuberance, but this was my first in-depth experience with a Sufi poet, and I loved it. Hafiz's words, and Ladinsky's sparkling translations were at times humorous, at times soulful, and always thought-provoking. Just what I needed, and I think next year I'll go back and read them all again.

[Jerad · Rating 2 out of 5]

Readers expecting some translated Hafiz will be disappointed. In other media Ladinsky has said that for this book Hafiz came to him in dreams and this book is a record of those dream poems.

As poetry it's mostly fine - some are insightful, some are laughable - but a reader expecting to learn about Hafiz or believing that they are reading the master will be sorely disappointed.

[Tara · Rating 1 out of 5]

It’s honestly astonishing that Ladinsky has built a career of being a “translator” of Hafiz when it is evident he doesn’t speak, read or write Farsi and has not shown any respect to the cultural and historical contexts of Hafiz’s poetry. Hafiz is a giant in Persian literature and culture and these “translations” are frankly insulting to his enormous contributions to the culture.

[Reem Rafei]

Unfortunately I can't seem to keep reading this for the rest of the year, compared to last year's Rilke's daily poems, this is hideous. Don't know if it's the translation or the modernized version of Hafez, I just can't.

[C2015 · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m sorry I bought this. I had no idea Daniel Ladinsky was culturally appropriating Hafiz. I was surprised to see references to baseball and modern things. Very very disappointed, I wanted translations of the master not some Americanized channeled version sold as if it was written by Hafiz.

[Fabienne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too supermarket. I understand it is an interpretation of Hafiz 's poetry, but really, he killed it.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredibly uplifting and inspiring book of poems. The poems are inspired by Hafiz (rather than actually by Hafiz), but who cares when its such beautiful writing?

[Keval · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have to say some translations didn't work for me. Inasmuch as the intention may have been to make the originals more accessible, some of the contemporary references left a weird aftertaste.

[Ilyah Nazrah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not my cup of tea. Might try reading this again after a few years.

[Tom Schulte · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have been following Nick Cave's "The Red Hand Files" and in #179:

What is your favourite poem?

[...]

I don’t have a favourite poem as it changes daily. I do have three poets on the go at the moment, though, who are all bringing me an enormous amount of insight and pleasure.

The first is the Persian lyric poet, Hafiz — who my friend, the sculptor, Thomas Houseago, calls ‘the great trickster’. Thomas recommended Daniel Ladinsky’s revelatory book, A Year with Hafiz, and I read one of these beautiful poems each day.

So, I decided to read along in 2022 these poems of Hafiz freely interpreted by Ladinsky. I saw some gripes online about the updating and transformative changes, but read the included section on the interpretations of Hafiz by Ralph Waldo Emerson and you will have to agree Ladinsky is in good company. This poetic sage is earthy, playful, wacky, and profound. These witty interpretations resonate with me as invitations to Playful Mindfulness—paying attention to the world with curiosity, joy. Here are some representative examples that I especially appreciated:

MAY 14: MOVE ON TO YOUR GLORY

What can you see of existence’s attempt to honor you, when you keep turning back to a time where some event you seemed to take part in may cause you to lower your head, and whisper again… I am sorry?

MAY 17: WHO WANTS THOSE?

I am at a juncture now where I never have to be serious again.

If I act that way—sober and concerned about something… it is just a charade.

For people who are serious, well, let’s face it… they seem to have lots of problems.

 And who wants those?

[Luqdah · Rating 1 out of 5]

I usually don’t engage in writing interviews, so for know I will adhere. However, Omid Safi addresses the problem with this book and others of this ilk.

“We live in an age where the president of the United States ran on an Islamophobic campaign of “Islam hates us” and establishing a cruel Muslim ban immediately upon taking office. As Edward Said and other theorists have reminded us, the world of culture is inseparable from the world of politics. So there is something sinister about keeping Muslims out of our borders while stealing their crown jewels and appropriating them not by translating them but simply as decor for poetry that bears no relationship to the original. Without equating the two, the dynamic here is reminiscent of white America’s endless fascination with Black culture and music while continuing to perpetuate systems and institutions that leave Black folk unable to breathe.

There is one last element: It is indeed an act of violence to take the Islam out of Rumi and Hafez, as Ladinsky has done. It is another thing to take Rumi and Hafez out of Islam. That is a separate matter, and a mandate for Muslims to reimagine a faith that is steeped in the world of poetry, nuance, mercy, love, spirit, and beauty. Far from merely being content to criticise those who appropriate Muslim sages and erase Muslims’ own presence in their legacy, it is also up to us to reimagine Islam where figures like Rumi and Hafez are central voices. This has been part of what many of feel called to, and are pursuing through initiatives like”

[Christy Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I fell in love with Hafiz when I first heard this poetry while taking an Exploring Islam class in seminary. I'd been familiar with Rumi, but Hafiz...ah, Hafiz was breathtaking in the beauty of the language. I've seen several different translations of the Sufi poet's work and by his own declaration, Ladinsky has intentionally modernized much of the language and context, but the rhythm and intent, the ecstasy and the ordinary co-reside here in accessible verse that feels true to the meaning of celebrating God as Lover and engaging with life and creation in all its messy wonder. I loved this book and have handfuls of little torn strips of paper marking favorite passages from throughout the year. I would be glad to read more of Ladinsky's translated books of poetry and will be hard pressed to find a book of poems that offers so much inspiration for next year.