West-Eastern Divan

In this much anticipated new translation, Eric Ormsby's clear prose is accompanied by explanatory notes of Goethe's verse, in both German and English, and of his commentary, the 'Notes and Essays for a Better Understanding of the West-Eastern Divan'.

In 1814, Goethe read the poems of the great fourteenth-century Persian poet Hafiz in a newly published translation by Joseph von Hammer-Purgstall. The book was a revelation. He called Hafiz his twin and was immediately inspired to create a Divan of his own. At the same time he met Marianne von Willemer, with whom he rapidly fell in love. She became the Suleika to his Hatem and a conversation begun with Hafiz blossomed into a duet for two lovers. In this much awaited new translation, Eric Ormsby's clear prose is accompanied by explanatory notes of both the verse in German and in English and of Goethe's own commentary, the 'Notes and Essays for a Better Understanding of the West-Eastern Divan'.

Autorentext

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) was a German poet, novelist, playwright, courtier, and natural philosopher. He is the author of many works, most famously the poetic drama, Faust. Eric Ormsby is a translator, scholar of Islamic thought, and senior research associate at the Institute of Ismaili Studies. He has published seven poetry collections and two critical works on poetry and translation.

Klappentext

In 1814, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe read the poems of the great fourteenth-century Persian poet Hafiz in a newly published translation by Joseph von Hammer-Purgstall. For Goethe, the book was a revelation. He felt a deep connection with Hafiz and Persian poetic traditions, and was immediately inspired to create his own West-Eastern Divan as a lyrical conversation between the poetry and history of his native Germany and that of Persia. The resulting collection engages with the idea of the other and unearths lyrical connections between cultures. The West-Eastern Divan is one of the world's great works of literature, an inspired masterpiece, and a poetic linking of European and Persian traditions. This new bilingual edition expertly presents the wit, intelligence, humor, and technical mastery of the poetry in Goethe's Divan. In order to preserve the work's original power, Eric Ormsby has created this translation in clear contemporary prose rather than in rhymed verse, which tends to obscure the works sharpness. This edition is also accompanied by explanatory notes of the verse in German and in English and a translation of Goethe's own commentary, the "Notes and Essays for a Better Understanding of the West-Eastern Divan." This edition not only bring this classic collection to English-language readers, but also, at a time of renewed Western unease about the other, to open up the rich cultural world of Islam.