DEGREESPOEMS OF MAJNUN DEGREES Translation & Introduction by Paul Smith Majnun was a real person Qays (Majnun='madman) was a youth, a Bedouin poet in the seventh century of the Bani Amir tribe in the Najd desert in Arabia. He fell in love with Layla from the same tribe whom he was denied. (It is said that Shakespeare was inspired by their tale for Romeo & Juliet from their tragic love story). Most of his recorded poetry was composed before his descent into love-madness (mast) then through a Perfect Master... his spiritual unification with his beloved. Nizami's famous telling of their tale came from this collected poems (Divan) and other sources. Many other Persian, Turkish and Urdu poets imitated him or wrote their own versions of the story of the height of human love that became Divine and a selection of them are translated in one appendix. Here in the form of the qit'as in which they were composed, is the largest collection of his immortal poems translated into English. Included are four appendixes. 220 pages. 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 and of paramount importance. I am astonished. If he comes to Iran I will kiss the fingertips that wrote such a masterpiece inspired by the Creator of all." Dr. Mir Mohammad Taghavi (Dr. of Literature) Tehran. "Superb translations. 99% Hafiz 1% Paul Smith." Ali Akbar Shapurzman, translator and 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 is a poet, author and translator of over 80 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, Khayyam, Rudaki, Yunus Emre, Lalla Ded, Bulleh Shah, Mahsati and others, and his own poetry, fiction, plays, biographies, children's books and screenplays.