Paul Smith

Bulleh Shah: Life & Poems Paul Smith

Publisher Marketing: BULLEH SHAH: LIFE & POEMS Translation & Introduction Paul Smith Bulleh Shah (1680-1758) was a Sufi poet who composed in Punjabi and settled in Kasur, now in Pakistan. His Spiritual Master was Shah Inayat. The poetic form Bulleh Shah is called the Kafi, a style of Punjabi poetry used not only by the Sufis of Sindh and Punjab, but also by Sikh gurus. His poetry and philosophy strongly criticizes the Islamic religious orthodoxy of his day. His time was marked with communal strife between Muslims and Sikhs. But in that age Bulleh Shah was a beacon of hope and peace for the citizens of the Punjab. Several of his songs or kafis are still regarded as an integral part of the traditional repertoire of qawwali, the musical genre that represents the devotional music of the Sufis. The correct rhyme-structure has been kept as well as the beauty and meaning of these poems. 90 pages. Introduction to Sufi Poets Series. COMMENTS ON PAUL SMITH'S TRANSLATION OF HAFIZ'S 'DIVAN'. "It is not a joke... the English version of ALL the ghazals of Hafiz is a great feat and of paramount importance. I am astonished." Dr. Mir Mohammad Taghavi (Dr. of Literature) Tehran. "Superb translations. 99% Hafiz 1% Paul Smith." Ali Akbar Shapurzman, translator into Persian and knower of Hafiz's Divan off by heart. "I was very impressed with the beauty of these books." Dr. R. K. Barz. Faculty of Asian Studies, Australian National University. "Smith has probably put together the greatest collection of literary facts and history concerning Hafiz." Daniel Ladinsky (Penguin Books author). Paul Smith is a poet, author and translator of over 150 books of Sufi poets of the Persian, Arabic, Urdu, Turkish, Pashtu and other languages, including Hafiz, Sadi, Nizami, Rumi, 'Attar, Sana'i, Jahan, Obeyd Zakani, Nesimi, Kabir, Anvari, Ansari, Jami, Khayyam, Rudaki, Yunus Emre, Jahan Khatun and many others, as well as poetry, fiction, plays, biographies, children's books and a dozen screenplays. www.newhumanitybooks.com Contributor Bio:  Smith, Paul Paul H. Smith, a retired Army intelligence officer and Operation Desert Storm veteran, spent seven years in the Department of Defense's remote-viewing program, serving as operational remote viewer, theory instructor and trainer, security officer, and unit historian. Smith has a B. A. in Middle Eastern studies from Brigham Young University, and an M. S. in Strategic Intelligence (Middle East emphasis) from the Defense Intelligence College, and is a doctoral candidate in philosophy at the University of Texas at Austin. He is president of Remote Viewing Instructional Services, Inc., and vice president of the nonprofit International Remote Viewing Association.