Nizámí Book order

Set against the backdrop of the seventh-century Iranian court, this love story centers on the passionate relationship between Khosrow, an Iranian prince, and Shirin, an Armenian princess. The narrative intertwines themes of politics, warfare, and erotic desire, exploring the complexities of love as both a conquering force and a source of unrequited longing. Dick Davis's modern-verse translation captures the original's lyrical beauty, while his insightful introduction enriches the reader's understanding, making this timeless tale accessible to both scholars and general readers alike.

The Persian epic that inspired Eric Clapton's unforgettable love song "Layla" and that Lord Byron called "the Romeo and Juliet of the East," in a masterly new translation A Penguin Classic The iconic love story of the Middle East, by a twelfth-century Persian poet who has been compared to Shakespeare for his subtlety, inventiveness, and dramatic force, Layli and Majnun tells of star-crossed lovers whose union is tragically thwarted by their families and whose passion continues to ripple out across the centuries. Theirs is a love that lasts a lifetime, and in Nezami's immortal telling, erotic longing blends with spiritual self-denial in an allegory of Sufi aspiration, as the amenities of civilization give way to the elemental wilderness, desire is sublimated into a mystical renunciation of the physical world, and the soul confronts its essence. This is a tour de force of Persian literature, in a translation that captures the extraordinary power and virtuosity of the original.

"It was a refreshing, old-fashioned pleasure to read Julie Scott Meisami's verse translation of, and introduction and notes to, this twelfth-century Persian allegorical romance." --Orhan Pahmuk, in the Times Literary Supplement

An excellent translation of Nizami's 12th century poetic masterpiece of the legend of the romantic fool. Tale of the ideal lover, and allegory of the soul's search for God.