Daniel Ladinsky

Daniel Ladinsky (b. 1948) is an American poet, born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. Over a twenty year period he spent extensive time 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.^[1][2] In introductions to his Hafiz poetry, Ladinsky notes that he offers interpretations and renderings of the poet, rather than literal or scholarly translations. His work is based on conveying and being "faithful to the living spirit" of Hafiz as well as other mystic poets.^[3]

Career

Since the release of his first publication I Heard God Laughing,^[4] Ladinsky's books have been translated into German, Hebrew, Turkish, Indonesian, and Slovene languages and maintain best-selling status in the religious and inspirational poetry genre. His work is widely quoted and is reprinted in the books of many authors, including Eckhart Tolle, Greg Mortenson, Matthew Fox, Janet Conner, Jack Kornfield, Roger Housden and Elizabeth Gilbert. Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim and Sufi organizations, as well as non-affiliated spiritual and service groups, license Ladinsky's work for use and reprint.^[5]

Ladinsky's work has garnered positive commentary from Ambassador Akbar S. Ahmed,^[6] has been favorably endorsed by The Christian Science Monitor writer, Alexandra Marks,^[7] and has been quoted in contemporary Muslim American non-fiction.^[8] The Islamic Foundation of North America uses Ladinsky's The Gift in its Islamic Literature curriculum.^[9]. Some hail Ladinsky's contemporary work for creating an immediate access to the spirit and intention of Hafiz' verse.^[10][11] Ladinsky authored a short essay in the form of an Amazon.com review, entitled My Portrait of Hafiz, that offers a description of the process and background of his work.^[12]

Critics point out that Ladinsky's poems are originals, and not translations or interpretations of Hafez.^[13][14][15] Christopher Shackle describes The Gift as "not so much a paraphrase as a parody of the wondrously wrought style of the greatest master of Persian art-poetry."^[16] That his poems are neither written nor intended to fall under the purview of literal and/or scholarly translations of Hafiz' work, Ladinsky states in each of his volumes. This can be noted in reference to the media report of the discovery that the poem the Premier of Ontario,Dalton McGuinty had recited from Ladinsky's book at a Nowruz celebration in Toronto had no corresponding Persian original.^[17]

Publications

• A Year With Hafiz: Daily Contemplations (2011) ISBN 978-0-14-311-754-4
• Love Poems from God : Twelve Sacred Voices from the East and West (2002) ISBN 0-14-219612-6
• The Gift (1999) ISBN 0-14-019581-5
• The Subject Tonight Is Love: Sixty Wild and Sweet Poems of Hafiz (1996 & 2006) ISBN 978-0-14-019623-8
• I Heard God Laughing: Renderings of Hafiz (1996 & 2003) ISBN 0-14-303781-1

See also

Poetry portal

• Sufism
• Islam
• Mysticism
• Sufism Reoriented

References

1. ^ Meher Baba http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meher_Baba
2. ^ Sounds True, Author Profile: Daniel Ladinsky [1]
3. ^ Ladinsky, Daniel (1996 & 2006) p.xi., I Heard God Laughing, Penguin.
4. ^ Sufism Reoriented Sufism Reoriented
5. ^ Thomas Grady Agency & NOBA Literary-permissions
6. ^ Ahmed, Akbar S. (Feb. 12,2003) Commentary: A Meditation on Love. Religion News Service. [2]
7. ^ Marks, Alexandra (Sept. 2009) Editorial Reviews.
8. ^ Hasan, Asma Gull (2009) Red, White, and Muslim: My Story of Belief. New York: Harper One.
9. ^ The Islamic Foundation of North America
10. ^ Shadyac, Tom "Favorite Books", I Am, the documentary. [3]
11. ^ Alam, Sadiq (May 23, 2009) Surprise in Mystic Poetry: Daniel Ladinsky and Hafiz. [4]
12. ^ Ladinsky, Daniel (April 2005) My Portrait of Hafiz
13. ^ Murat Nemet-Nejat: The Poetry Project Newsletter, 1999
14. ^ A.Z. Foreman's review of The Gift: Poems from Hafiz the great Sufi Master [5]
15. ^ Stealing Hafiz, Rick M. Chapman, White Horse Publishing Company, 2011
16. ^ Christopher Shackle, Translation and Religion: Holy Untranslatable? Edited by Lynne Long, 2005, p. 26)
17. ^ Supposed Hafiz poem recited by McGuinty turns out to be fake

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