Daniel Ladinsky
Daniel Ladinsky is an American poet, best known for his interest in spiritual traditions around the world, particularly Hinduism, Islam and Sufism. He was born and raised in the Midwest United States. For six years he made his home in a spiritual community in western India, where he worked in a rural clinic free to the poor, and lived with the intimate disciples and family of Meher Baba. [2] In introductions to his Hafez poetry, Ladinsky notes that he offers interpretations of the poet Hafez, rather than translations. He believes that it is more important to convey the emotions in Hafez’s poetry than to keep the same rhythm in the English language, and he uses the most simple words possible. In contrast some point out that Ladinsky’s poems are originals, and not translations or interpretations of Hafez.[1] Christopher Shackle describes "The Gift" as "not so much a paraphrase as a parody of the wonderously wrought style of the greatest master of Persian art-poetry." [2]
Publications
- The Gift ISBN 0-14-019581-5
- Love Poems from God : Twelve Sacred Voices from the East and West ISBN 0-14-219612-6
- I Heard God Laughing: Renderings of Hafiz ISBN 0-915828-18-9
- The Subject Tonight Is Love: Sixty Wild and Sweet Poems of Hafiz ISBN 0-14-019623-4