THE BOOK OF IBN YAMIN Translation & Introduction Paul Smith Amir Fakhr al-Din Mahmud, or Ibn Yamin (1286-1367), was born in Turkistan. His father was a poet who taught him the craft and left his son wealthy and the role of the court-poet in Khurasan. Ibn Yamin was taken captive when war broke out in 1342 and his complete Divan of poems was destroyed. He was a master of the form of the qit'a but he also wrote ruba'is and ghazals... often with a Sufi point of view. All are here represented. He is now as he was then, famous for his down-to-earth commonsense. Hafiz was influenced by his poems. He expresses great wisdom and humour and it is probably these characteristics that apprealed to Hafiz and many later poets. During the last 25 years of his life he composed 5000 couplets on top of all he remembered. Here is the largest translation of his poems published in correct-rhyming, meaningful English. Introduction: Life & Times & Poetry and the Poetic Forms in which he wrote, Selected Bibliography. Appendix: 100 Short Poems with Persian Text & Translation by E.H. Rodwell 1933. Large Format Paperback 7" x 10" 207 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. "Smith has probably put together the greatest collection of literary facts and history concerning Hafiz." Daniel Ladinsky (Penguin Books author). "Superb translations. 99% Hafiz 1% Paul Smith." Ali Akbar Shapurzman, translator of many works in English into Persian and knower of Hafiz's Divan off by heart. Paul Smith is a poet, author and translator of many 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, Nesimi, Kabir, Anvari, Ansari, Jami, Khayyam, Rudaki, Yunus Emre, Lalla Ded, Ghalib, Iqbal and many others, as well as his own poetry, fiction, plays, children's books, biographies and 12 screenplays. www.newhumanitybooks.com