December 10, 1997
The Iranian

From the introduction to "Borrowed Ware: Medieval Persian Epigrams" translated by Dick Davis (Mage Publishers, 1997). See samples poems below.

"Above all, poetry lulls them, that genius seeming properly to delight itself among them... Nor have I read that amongst the Romans, or in any other parts, poetry has been better rewarded; witness poet Mervan, who for 70 distichs which he presented Mahomet, the great Almansor's son, received as a reward 70,000 staters... And their graceful shaking their notes in chanting and quavering (after the French air) gives it to the ear harmonious..." Thomas Herbert, Travels in Persia, 1627-9

The poems translated here were written in Persian between the 10th and late 16th centuries, i.e. throughout what was regarded as the "classic" period of Persian poetry -- in fact extending somewhat beyond its limit, as the period is conventionally held to have come to an end with the death of the narrative poet Jami in 1492.

There is another limitation of which the reader should be aware. Persian poetry divides very roughly into three kinds, according to the poems' length: long (narrative), medium (lyric and panegyric), and short (epigrammatic: encapsulating a mood, insight, complaint, compliment or witticism). A selection of the last kind only -- the short epigrammatic poem -- is translated here.

This means that many of the most admired poets of Persia (Nezami, Ferdowsi, Jami for example) are not represented at all in this volume, and that others (Khaghani, Hafez, Sana'i for example) are represented by poems that hare not particularly typical of their total output.

That said, the anthology does, I believe, give a fair idea of the atmosphere and variety of Persian epigrams, and it also incidentally provides what I hope are fascinating occasional glimpses into vanished and extraordinary way of life, that of Persian medieval courts. How very like us they were, and also how utterly unlike, are both apparent in these poems.

---

---

Copyright © 1997 Abadan Publishing Co. All Rights Reserved. May not be duplicated or distributed in any form.

Web Site Design by Multimedia Internet Services, Inc.

Internet server by Global Publishing Group.