One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2002 "Sometimes humorous or mystical, the poems focus on family, love and religion... This collection is a fine historical document and anthology of eloquent poetry."
Library Journal "Only [Lewis] could single-handedly assemble poems from so many languages and cultures into a coherent anthology... Although translating from four languages, Lewis captures the rhythms and cadences ... Read moreof each admirably."
Booklist "Lewis, one of the foremost scholars of the Middle East, has devoted much of his career to the history of Islam; this volume collects his translations of poems
nearly all appearing in English for the first time
that span eleven centuries and four major Middle Eastern traditions. Many of the most striking works address, in spare, stirring lines, the twin demands of serving the self and serving God."
The New Yorker "Lewis is probably the doyen of Middle East historians. Few scholars in the field today can match his mastery of languages and his elegant style in English... The translations are a delight to read and give a good sense of the range of subject matter of this poetry."
Choice "A work of stunning beauty... The poems here, as ensured by Mr. Lewis' mastery of all source languages, and his impeccable style and taste, come fully alive in English."
Surekha Vijh, The Washington Times "This anthology is a selection of poems representing the forms and styles of Middle Eastern poetry from the 7th to the 18th century in the four leading literary traditions of the Middle East. These poems are revelatory: straightforward and yet filled with longing and desire."
LA Times Book Review "Bernard Lewis's translations suggest differences of tone and temperament in the wide range of traditions from which he has compiled his anthology, among them classical Arabic, Turkish, and Hebrew poetry, as well as Persian."
W.S. Merwin, The New York Review of Books "This price-worthy book can be recommended to a very wide variety of readers, lay and academic, interested in poetry and poetics or in the periods, places, and overlapped cultures represented here."
Victor Castellani, European Legacy Show Less