A Year with Hafiz: Daily Contemplations Paperback – Deckle Edge, November 2, 2011

Buying this book is the best thing you can do for yourself right now. It's a lovely aid to help remember to bring art and beauty into your life daily. I love reading people their poem for their bday. It's a cute date thing too.

Having an open heart is a prerequisite for living a life of joy. There's nothing like sacred poetry to open the heart, so if you like to feel joyful, sacred poetry might be for you. If you enjoy sacred poetry, you will love Hafiz. If you love Hafiz, you already know Daniel Ladinsky is the best English language translator for Hafiz in the 21st century.We had to wait four years for Ladinsky's latest offering, but it was worth it. It's packed with gems, both short and long.A love of poetry is individualistic, so you might not like the same poems I do. However, I encourage you to absorb Ingredients From All Thought (May 6), which includes this amazing line: "Heaven guards our souls because they are so precious." Then skip to November 12 and 13 and take in It Cuts The Plow Reins. It contains the wonderful line I used as the title for this review: "...just go wild, loving God and everyone all day."Lynn McGonagillauthor of Be Who Your Soul Wants You To Be: The Lightworks Healing Methodavailable summer 2012

How I appreciate spending the year with Hafiz in daily readings. It slows me down so that I am better able to take in each poem more deeply. Hafiz is a “Perfected Master, someone who embodies a perfect understanding of the beauty and harmony of the universe.” In the poem "Why Saadi Sits Alone,” Ladinsky says: “Your destiny is winding toward the Perfect.” It is a matter of taste on how one prefers Hafiz renderings and translations in modern English. Mr. Ladinsky explains that his poems are not intended to be traditional or scholarly translations, but are “Hafiz-inspired” after years of immersion into the Sufi master's works and life. His use of contemporary idioms brings this 13th century poet into the 21st century for me, as his renderings capture Hafiz's heart and sight within the images. I have no doubt that Ladinsky knows his subject very well. I am inspired by A Year with Hafiz and with Mr. Ladinsky’s interpretations: “Do what most enables you to fly / and brings a feeling to the heart that makes you / glad to be alive.” What a lovely invitation to open my heart to the potential of understanding the universe more “perfectly.” Neala Shane

A great combination - though the language sometimes reached for the idiom - which Hafez would not have used. Still the wit and vision and ecstasy come through. A favored book and I'd recited from it at readings many times.

For each day of the year (date specified), there is one of Hafiz's beautiful poems. This presents a wonderful opportunity for daily reading and reflection. My only issue is that the translator used a lot of creative licensing--I do mean, a lot. The essence of Hafiz is still there, and most of the poems are as enjoyable (if in a somewhat different sense) as those in other collections. However, there are several that stray too far.

This is my second Ladinsky book and I loved it just as much as the first. His translations are a window to an ancient time and spirit. And in some ways perhaps even a rebirth of the soul of that era to ours. In any event, thank you so very much.

A Year With Hafiz is a treasure, a must for a soulful way to begin the new year. Any year. The book's calendar format , a poem a day, fits busy lifestyles and reminds us to slow down. Everyone can make time for one poem a day, and everyone should. It may be the healthiest, kindest gift you can give yourself and those close to you. Daniel Ladinsky's poetry creeps into your sinews and plugs fissures of longing that hunger for beauty. You will want to make a permanent spot for this book on your bookshelf and in your heart.

Strongly recommend.