THE CONCISE DIVAN OF ALISHER NAVA’I: A Great Sufi Poet & ‘Universal’ Man

by Alisher Nava'i, Paul Smith (translator)

THE CONCISE DIVAN OF ALISHER NAVA’I... A Great Sufi Poet & ‘Universal’ Man. Translation & Introduction Paul Smith Alisher Nava’i (1441 – 1501) was a Sufi poet, politician, linguist, scientist, author, calligrapher, art-patron, intellectual, painter, builder… of Uyghur origin who was born and lived in Herat (now north-western Afghanistan). He is generally known by his pen name Nava’i (‘the weeper’). Alisher Nava’i was among the key writers who revolutionized the literary use of the Turkic languages. Nava’i himself wrote primarily in the Chagatai language and produced 30 works over a period of 30 years, during which Chagatai became accepted as a prestigious and well-respected literary language. Nava’i also wrote in Persian (under the pen name of Fani), and to a much lesser degree in Arabic and Hindi. Nava’i’s best-known poems are found in his four divans, or poetry collections, which total 50,000 couplets. Each part of the work corresponds to a different period of a person’s life. Many of his gazels & roba’is and other poems are represented in this translation in correct forms for the first time. Turkish & Sufi Poetry, Life & Times of Alisher Nava’i, Selected Bibliography. Comments on Paul Smith’s Translation of Hafiz’s ‘Divan’. “It is not a joke... the English version of ALL the ghazals of Hafiz is a great feat... I am astonished.” Dr. Mir Mohammad Taghavi (Dr. of Literature) Tehran. “Superb translations. 99% Hafiz 1% Paul Smith.” Ali Akbar Shapurzman, translator from English into Persian, 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 (b. 1945) is a poet, author and translator of many books of Sufi poets of the Persian, Arabic, Urdu, Turkish, Pashtu and other languages… including Hafiz, Sadi, Nizami, Rumi, ‘Attar, Sana’i, Jahan Khatun, Obeyd Zakani, Mu’in, Amir Khusrau, Nesimi, Kabir, Anvari, Ansari, Jami, Omar Khayyam, Rudaki, Yunus Emre, Mahsati, Lalla Ded, Bulleh Shah, Shah Latif, Makhfi, Seemab, Jigar, Abu Nuwas, Ibn al-Farid, Ibn ‘Arabi and others, and his own poetry, fiction, plays, biographies, children’s books and 12 screenplays. New Humanity Books amazon.com/author/smithpa

104 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 19, 2024

About the author

'Ali-Shir Nava'i, also known as Nizām-al-Din ʿAli-Shir Herawī (Chagatai Turkic/Persian: نظام‌الدین علی‌شیر نوایی‎), was a Turkic poet, writer, politician, linguist, mystic and painter who was the greatest representative of Chagatai literature.

Because of his distinguished Chagatai language poetry, Nava'i is considered by many throughout the Turkic-speaking world to be the founder of early Turkic literature. Many places and institutions in Central Asia are named after him.