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"There is an opportunity of knowing in brilliant English translations much of the poetry of China and Japan, of India and Persia; and Arabic poetry is accessible ; but I believe this book to be the first general English anthology of Asiatic verse. It is haphazard, as such books must be until some polyglot scholar gives a whole life to the matter. Variety was the only aim possible in a space so small, and therefore I have selected love poems of different centuries and of both primitive and subtle peoples."
- GenresPoetry
62 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1918
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About the author
E. Powys Mathers
121 books37 followersfrom Wikipedia:
E(dward) Powys Mathers was an English translator and poet, and also a pioneer of compiling advanced cryptic crosswords.
Powys Mathers was born in Forest Hill, London, the son of a newspaper proprietor. He was educated at Loretto and Trinity College, Oxford.
He was the editor with J.C. Mardrus of The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night (his 12 volume English translation of the Mardrus adaptation appeared in 1923).
He is known also for the translations The Garden of Bright Waters: One Hundred and Twenty Asiatic Love Poems (1920); and of the Kashmiri poet Bilhana in Bilhana: Black Marigolds (1919), a free interpretation in the tradition of Edward Fitzgerald. These are not scholarly works, and are in some cases based on intermediate versions in European languages. Some of his translations were set to music by Aaron Copland.
He was also a composer of cryptic crosswords for The Observer under the pseudonym "Torquemada" from 1926 until his death.
E(dward) Powys Mathers was an English translator and poet, and also a pioneer of compiling advanced cryptic crosswords.
Powys Mathers was born in Forest Hill, London, the son of a newspaper proprietor. He was educated at Loretto and Trinity College, Oxford.
He was the editor with J.C. Mardrus of The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night (his 12 volume English translation of the Mardrus adaptation appeared in 1923).
He is known also for the translations The Garden of Bright Waters: One Hundred and Twenty Asiatic Love Poems (1920); and of the Kashmiri poet Bilhana in Bilhana: Black Marigolds (1919), a free interpretation in the tradition of Edward Fitzgerald. These are not scholarly works, and are in some cases based on intermediate versions in European languages. Some of his translations were set to music by Aaron Copland.
He was also a composer of cryptic crosswords for The Observer under the pseudonym "Torquemada" from 1926 until his death.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
March 9, 2023
I recently acquired a copy of a first edition of this book, published in 1918, and being able to hold and leaf through a first edition of any book adds immensly to the pleasure of reading said book.
This book contains love poems, translated into English by Edward Powys Mathers, from various Asian countries. They allow glimpses into different cultures, which I find very interesting.
I quite liked some of the poems, but I have to admit that the book doesn't contain a single poem which I truly loved. My favourite is a very short poem, "Grief," translated "from the Persian of Schahid (10th Century)", p.41: "If grief like fire should give out smoke / Ever it would be night on earth."
This book contains love poems, translated into English by Edward Powys Mathers, from various Asian countries. They allow glimpses into different cultures, which I find very interesting.
I quite liked some of the poems, but I have to admit that the book doesn't contain a single poem which I truly loved. My favourite is a very short poem, "Grief," translated "from the Persian of Schahid (10th Century)", p.41: "If grief like fire should give out smoke / Ever it would be night on earth."
Displaying 1 of 1 review