Still llittle known in the West, Persian poetry offers extradordinary
riches. While celebrating the beauty of the world in poems about love, wine
and poetry itself, or telling annecdotes of everyday life, Persian poetry
set these themes in the woder religious and philosophical context of Islam,
Omar, Rumi, Saadi, Sanai, Attar, Hafez and Jami - the great lyric and
didactic poets of medieval Persia - are all represented in this selection
of translations spanning almost two hundred and fifty years.