Hafiz, or Hafez of Shiraz, is a fourteenth-century Persian poet best known for lyric ghazals about love, wine, spiritual longing, hypocrisy and the elusive relationship between human and divine desire. The Divan of Hafez is not a narrative book but a collection of poems whose meanings often turn on wordplay, ambiguity and cultural references difficult to carry fully into English. Some modern English books marketed under Hafiz's name are very free adaptations rather than close translations, so edition and translator matter greatly. His poetry can be sensual, mystical, satirical and devotional at once, resisting a simple division between sacred and secular. Hafiz fits Persian classics, Sufi-influenced poetry and world literature, especially for readers willing to compare translations. Read more Less
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