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With recent attention from The New Yorker and a big increase in
sales, it's clear Ginzburg's work still resonates with readers. A
fresh new package and layout will appeal to established fans and
attract new readers. Will include a new foreword or introduction,
author TK.
Shahrokh Meskoob was one of Iran's leading intellectuals and a
preeminent scholar of Persian literary traditions, language, and
cultural identity. In The Ant's Gift, Meskoob applies his insight
and considerable analytical skills to the Shahnameh, the national
epic of Iran completed in 1010 by the poet Abul-Qasem Ferdowsi.
Tracing Iran's history from its first mythical king to the fall of
the Sasanian dynasty, the Shahnameh includes myths, romance,
history, and political theory. Meskoob sheds new light on this
seminal work of Persian culture, identifying the story as at once a
historical and poetic work. While previous criticism of the
Shahnameh has focused on its linguistic importance and its role in
Iranian nationalism, Meskoob draws attention to the work's
pre-Islamic cultural origins.
This is the fourteenth volume from Between The Lines, and it marks
an interesting departure from the previous thirteen, featuring as
it does three poets, not just one, each of whom is rather younger
than the poets appearing in the earlier books. Though younger each
has a claim to being called "senior," having a long list of highly
regarded publications behind them, and a number of coveted honors
and awards to his/her name. The three poets have been questioned at
length about their life and their work by three distinguished
poet-critics: Clive Wilmer, Isaac Cates, and Cynthia Haven. Their
carefully meditated responses will be helpful to the general reader
and the specialist alike. The three poets interviewed are Tim
Steele, who teaches at California State University, Dick Davis, who
teaches at Ohio State University, and Rachel Hadas, who teaches at
Rutgers University.
An incredible collection of verse by women poets writing in
Persian, many translated into English for the first time From Iran
and India, to Afghanistan and Uzbekistan, from princesses and
entertainers to anonymous wives and daughters, The Mirror of My
Heart displays the extraordinary breadth of women writing in
Persian. The 83 poets included in this collection - many translated
here for the first time - traverse a thousand years: from Rabe'eh
and her surprisingly sensual writing in the ninth century, to the
powerful verse of Fatemeh Ekhtesari in the twenty-first.
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The Conference of the Birds (Paperback)
Farid Attar; Translated by Afkham Darbandi, Dick Davis; Introduction by Afkham Darbandi, Dick Davis
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R338
R275
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Consisting of a group of stories bound together by a pilgrimage, this great twelfth-century poem is an allegorical rendering of the Way of the Sufi—the secretive and paradoxical form of Islamic mysticism.
Iran's national epic, the Shahnameh of Ferdowsi, has traditionally
been regarded by both Persians and Westerners as a poem celebrating
the the central role of monarchy in Persian history. In this
groundbreaking book, Dick Davis argues that the poem is far more
than a patriotic chronicle of kingly deeds. Rather, it is a subtle
and highly ambiguous discussion of authority, and far from being a
celebration of monarchy, its most famous episodes and heroes amount
to a radical critique of the institution. Davis demonstrates that
the public world of kingly authority is shadowed in the poem by a
series of tragic father-son relationships, and that in both the
royal and familial spheres, authority figures are invariably
presented as morally inferior to those whom they govern. The
Shahnameh's complex aesthetic structure and its tragic resolution
of problems of authority and hierarchy make it an artistic artifact
able to take its rightful place beside the major masterpieces of
world literature.
Dick Davis, "our pre-eminent translator from the Persian"
(Washington Post) has revised and expanded his highly-praised
translation of Ferdowsi's masterpiece, including more than 100
pages of newly translated text. Davis's elegant combination of
prose and verse allows the poetry of the Shanameh to sing its own
tales directly, interspersed sparingly with clearly-marked
explanations to ease along modern readers. Among the greatest works
of world literature, this prodigious narrative, composed by the
poet Ferdowsi in the late tenth century, tells the story of
pre-Islamic Iran, beginning in the mythic time of creation and
continuing forward to the Arab invasion in the seventh century.
Shahrokh Meskoob was one of Iran's leading intellectuals and a
preeminent scholar of Persian literary traditions, language, and
cultural identity. In The Ant's Gift, Meskoob applies his insight
and considerable analytical skills to the Shahnameh, the national
epic of Iran completed in 1010 by the poet Abul-Qasem Ferdowsi.
Tracing Iran's history from its first mythical king to the fall of
the Sasanian dynasty, the Shahnameh includes myths, romance,
history, and political theory. Meskoob sheds new light on this
seminal work of Persian culture, identifying the story as at once a
historical and poetic work. While previous criticism of the
Shahnameh has focused on its linguistic importance and its role in
Iranian nationalism, Meskoob draws attention to the work's
pre-Islamic cultural origins.
The Hudson Review has always had an international focus. Travel and
reports from abroad have figured prominently in the journal,
including essays on exotic and picturesque locales, as well as
accounts from war-torn areas and the experiences of exiles. Many of
these are pilgrimages; others are harrowing memoirs. What unites
even the most devastating of these accounts are intellectual
curiosity and a spirit of adventure. Places Lost and Found is a
treasury of distinctive and compelling essays selected from six
decades of the Hudson Review. From a description of the gardens of
Kyoto and a portrait of Syria just before its civil war to
reflections on Veblen and the Mall of America, these essays explore
an array of places that are deeply layered with history and
meaning. The stunning cover photo of the Semper Opera House in
Dresden encapsulates many of the themes of the book: war and its
aftermath, the importance of the built environment in any
discussion of "place," the endurance of civilization and
resilience, and of course the romance of travel.
The most beloved Iranian novel of the twentieth century
"God forbid, I've fallen in love with Layli!" So begins the farce
of our narrator's life, one spent in a large extended Iranian
family lorded over by the blustering, paranoid patriarch, Dear
Uncle Napoleon. When Uncle Napoleon's least-favorite nephew falls
for his daughter, Layli, family fortunes are reversed, feuds fired
up and resolved, and assignations attempted and thwarted.
First published in Iran in the 1970s and adapted into a hugely
successful television series, this beloved novel is now "Suggested
Reading" in Azar Nafisi's "Reading Lolita in Tehran. My Uncle
Napoleon is a timeless and universal satire of first love and
family intrigue.
A giant of world literature, an eloquent princess, a dissolute
satirist -- these are the three voices translated from
fourteenth-century Persian by Dick Davis in Faces of Love.
Together, they represent one of the most remarkable literary
flowerings of any era. All three -- Hafez, Jahan Malek Khatun, and
Obayd-e Zakani -- lived in Shiraz, a provincial capital in
south-central Iran, and all drew support from arts-loving rulers at
a time better known for invasions and political violence. Love was
a frequent subject of their work: spiritual as well as secular, in
varieties embracing every aspect of the human heart. They could
hardly have been more different. Hafez -- destined to win fame
throughout the world -- wrote lyrical poetry that was subtle,
elusive, and rich in ambiguity. Jahan -- largely forgotten until
recent decades -- was a privileged princess who could evoke
passion, longing and heartbreak with uncanny power. (As Davis says:
"To have this extraordinary poets fascinating and often very
beautiful poems emerge from six hundred years of virtual oblivion
seems almost miraculous") Obayd -- a satirist and truth-teller --
celebrated every pleasure of the flesh in language of astonishing
and occasionally obscene honesty.
In "Borrowed Ware, poet and translator Dick Davis brings together a
collection of epigrams by poets from the "classic" period of
Persian literature. It makes a fascinating introduction to a
literature that is little known in the West, and incidentally
provides insight into a vanished and extraordinary way of life.
Davis's prodigious scholarship of Persian poetry has enabled him to
select a wide range of poems, from both famous and little-known
poets. The result is some to the best English translations of
Persian poetry ever. Davis has maintained exceptional faithfulness
to the original Persian while recasting the poems grace and drive
in English. The book also contains a lucid and entertaining
introduction, and informative notes on each of the sixty-eight
poets whose work is included. Each poem is faced by the text in
delicate Persian "nasta'liq calligraphy by Amir Hossein Tabnak
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Layli and Majnun (Paperback)
Nezami Ganjavi; Translated by Dick Davis
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R431
R350
Discovery Miles 3 500
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One of the great works of Persian literature in a masterful new
translation Called 'the Romeo and Juliet of the East' by Lord
Byron, Layli and Majnun is a classic tale of forbidden love that
gained widespread popularity following its depiction in this
twelfth-century narrative poem. Much like the lovers in the
Shakespearean classic, Layli and Majnun's star-crossed lovers have
become icons of both Persian literature and popular culture thanks
to Nizami's accessible narrative poem, which is translated here in
rhyming couplets by the acclaimed poet and scholar of Persian
literature Dick Davis.
The selected adventures of Persia's Hercules, from Iran's great
national epic
No understanding of world mythology is complete without
acquaintance with Rostam, Iran's most celebrated mythological hero.
According to the "Shahnameh "(the tenth-century "Book of Kings"),
this titan, magnificent in strength and courage, bestrode Persia
for 500 years. While he often served fickle kings?undergoing many
trials of combat, cunning, and endurance?he was never their servant
and owed allegiance only to his nation's greater good. Anyone
interested in folklore, world literature, or Iranian culture will
find "Rostam" both a rousing and illuminating read.
The selected adventures of Persia's Hercules, from Iran's great
national epic
No understand ing of world mythology is complete without
acquaintance with Rostam, Iran's most celebrated mythological hero.
According to the "Shahnameh "(the tenth-century "Book of Kings"),
this titan, magnificent in strength and courage, bestrode Persia
for 500 years. While he often served fickle kings?undergoing many
trials of combat, cunning, and endurance?he was never their servant
and owed allegiance only to his nation's greater good. Anyone
interested in folklore, world literature, or Iranian culture will
find "Rostam" both a rousing and illuminating read.
"The Legend of Seyavash begins with the stuff of romance--a foreign
girl of royal blood, found as a fugitive and introduced into the
king's harem, gives birth to a son, Seyavash, who is raised not by
his father the king, but by the great hero Rostam. Upon his return
home from Rostam's tutelage, he is betrayed by his stepmother,
Sudabeh, who attempts to seduce him and punishes him with a trial
by fire when he spurns her. Seyavash is victorious in his trial,
and goes on to successfully battle Iran's rival. Turan, concluding
a truced with the Turanian king, Afrasyab, on amicable terms. But
Seyavash's father, Kavus, insists that Seyavash surrender the
Turanian hostages to slaughter, and with a conflicted conscience
and no one to turn to, Seyavash flees to the Turanian court, where
he is first given safe harbor, but is once again abandoned,
murdered by the king's jealous brother. The Legend of Seyavash
comes from the middle section of Ferdowsi's "Shahnameh, and
presents a world of warfare between Iran and its neighbors. The
epic style--with its paeans to loyalty, military prowess, and
bravery, and its dichotomy between the forces of good and evil--is
in full bloom. But here, as an episode of the Shahnameh which seems
to receive more of Ferdowsi's attention, "The Legend of Seyavash
achieves a psychological complexity, in Seyavash's struggles with
his various father-figures, with his surrogate family, and
ultimately with his own sense of loyalty conscience, and fate. The
heroic action in The Legend of Seyavash is matched by Ferdowsi's
acute and ethical insights into the individual's struggle between
conscience and familial loyalty, easting Seyavash as not only an
epic figures but a tragic oneas well.
The Hudson Review has always had an international focus. Travel and
reports from abroad have figured prominently in the journal,
including essays on exotic and picturesque locales, as well as
accounts from war-torn areas and the experiences of exiles. Many of
these are pilgrimages; others are harrowing memoirs. What unites
even the most devastating of these accounts are intellectual
curiosity and a spirit of adventure. Places Lost and Found is a
treasury of distinctive and compelling essays selected from six
decades of the Hudson Review. From a description of the gardens of
Kyoto and a portrait of Syria just before its civil war to
reflections on Veblen and the Mall of America, these essays explore
an array of places that are deeply layered with history and
meaning. The stunning cover photo of the Semper Opera House in
Dresden encapsulates many of the themes of the book: war and its
aftermath, the importance of the built environment in any
discussion of "place," the endurance of civilization and
resilience, and of course the romance of travel.
Among the masterpieces of world literature, one of the least
familiar to English readers is the Persian Book of Kings (Shahnameh
in Persian). Composed 1,000 years ago, this prodigious national
epic is a 60,000 couplet verse poem, which recounts Persia's
history from the time of Creation to the 7th-century Arab conquest.
The Lion and the Throne, volume I of our series recasts the first
third of this epic in a mixture of English prose and verse for the
contemporary reader. These tales follow Persia's civilization
through a long line of rulers, heroes and heroines as they face
love and lust, tragedy and treachery, war and peace, victory and
defeat.
Volume II of our series, Fathers and Sons, opens and closes with
tales of tragic conflict between a king and his son: Prince
Seyavash and Prince Esfandyar are both driven from the court by
their foolish fathers to confront destiny and death in distant
lands. Interwoven with Seyavash's story is the tale of his
stepmother Sudabeh's lust for him, and of his escape from her wiles
by the famous trial by fire. Esfandyar's story involves the last
combat of the great Rostam, a fight to the death which leads to
Rostam's own demise at the hands of his evil brother Shaghad.
Between these two stories the reader travels through a wondrous
landscape of romance "Bizhan and Manizheh", demons "the Akvan Div",
heroic despair "The Story of Forud" and mystical renunciation of
the world "The Occultation of Kay Khosrow". Breathtaking miniatures
from the finest Persian Shahnameh manuscripts of the 16th and 17th
centuries heighten the emotional impact of the text.
A pioneer in the financial media, Dick Davis has interacted with
the investing public for over forty years. With his new book, he
continues this trend. The first part of "The Dick Davis Dividend"
contains an easy-to-read, yet profound discussion of the essentials
of investing--focusing on the savvy veteran's often unconventional,
core beliefs. While the second part of this engaging guide makes a
compelling case for combining both passive investing via index
funds and active investing via stocks and mutual funds.
VIS & RAMIN is one of the world's great love stories. it was
the first major Persian romance, written between 1050 and 1055 in
rhyming couplets. This remarkable work has now been superbly
translated into heroic couplets (the closest metrical equivalent of
the Persian) by the poet and scholar Dick Davis. VIS AND RAMIN had
immense influence on later Persian poetry and is very probably also
the source for the tale of Tristan and Isolde, which first appeared
in Europe about a century later. The plot, complex yet powerfully
dramatic, revolves around royal marital customs unfamiliar to us
today. shahru, the married queen of mah, refuses an offer of
marriage from King mobad of marv but promises that if she bears a
daughter she will give the child to him as a bride. she duly bears
a daughter, Vis, who is brought up by a nurse in the company of
mobad's younger brother Ramin. By the time Vis reaches the age of
marriage, shahru has forgotten her promise and instead weds her
daughter to Vis's older brother, Viru. The next day mobad's brother
Zard arrives to demand the bride, and fighting breaks out, during
which Vis's father is killed. mobad then bribes shahru to hand Vis
over to him. mobad's brother Ramin escorts Vis to her new husband
and falls in love with her on the way. Vis has no love for mobad
and turns to her old nurse for help...Told in language that is
lush, sensual and highly inventive, VIS AND RAMIN is a masterpiece
of psychological perceptiveness and characterisation: shahru is
worldly and venal, the nurse resourceful and amoral (she will
immediately remind Western readers of the nurse in shakespeare's
Romeo and Juliet), Vis high-spirited and determined, Ramin
impetuous and volatile. and the hopeless psychological situation of
Vis' husband, mobad, flickers wearily from patience to
self-assertion to fury and back again. The origins of VIS AND RAMIN
are obscure. The story dates from the time of the Parthians (who
ruled Persia from the third century BCE to the third century CE),
and certainly existed in oral and perhaps written form before the
eleventh century Persian poet Fakhraddin Gorgani composed the
version that has come down to us.
Rostam is Iran's greatest mythological hero, a Persian Hercules,
magnificent in strength and courage. As recounted in the
tenth-century Book of Kings (Shahnameh) by the poet Ferdowsi, he
was an indomitable force in ancient Persia for 500 years,
undergoing many trials of combat, cunning and endurance. Although
Rostam served a series of often-fickle kings, he was always his own
man, committed to the greater good of Iran. His adventures are some
of the best-loved of all Persian narratives and remain deeply
resonant in Iranian culture. This book begins with the birth of
Rostams father Zal and ends with Rostams death. The tales tell of
the love between Zal and Rostams mother, the Kaboli princess
Rudabeh; of Rostams miraculous birth, aided by the magical bird
Simorgh; of Rostams youth and the selection of his trusty horse
Rakhsh; of his affair with Princess Tahmineh, the birth of their
son Sohrab, and, after Sohrab grows into a mighty warrior himself,
the tragic confrontation between father and son. The tales conclude
with Rostams war against demons, his seven trials, his rescue of
Prince Bizhan, and finally his battle, both intellectual and
physical, with the ambitious and religiously-driven prince
Esfandyar.
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