Selected poems of Solomon Ibn Gabirol /

Cole's translations of Ibn Gabirol's poetry shimmer: they convey the power and mystique of the original in warm and wonderful phrases. Immediately accessible to the reader seeking beautiful locutions about love, longing and desire, human soul and God, the levels of meaning are captured by the notes, which, at their best, include not only references to biblical, talmudic, and Arabic verse but also to scholarly analyses. Cole's introduction is a gem, delineating what little is known about Ibn Gabirol the man and describing his world, his work, and his thought in ways that will delight both the literature major and the Judaica scholar. Ibn Gabirol's fame is current: Cole notes that "his religious poems now form part of the regular prayer service in Jewish communities throughout the world, and downtown Tel Aviv traffic jams take place on a street that bears his name." Now, Cole's translation lets the poems speak for themselves to today's readers who cannot enjoy them in the original--and even for those who can, although the latter may wish the Hebrew texts had been included in this work. All academic and general collections. S. Ward University of Denver

Born in 1021 or 1022 in C"rdoba, Spain, and moving in childhood to the Arab-Jewish center of Saragossa, a mysterious Andalusian poet "[took] Hebrew poetry to a level of metaphysical sophistication and devotional power it has not seen since." Jerusalem poet (Hymns & Qualms) and translator (he won the MLA-Scaglione Prize for The Selected Poems of Shmuel HaNagid) Peter Cole has prepared a much-needed Selected Poems of Solomon Ibn Gabriol, revealing much about that poet and his projects. In the long poem, "Kingdom's Crown," as in the shorter pieces and "shards," Gabriol stakes out thorny ground: "who could approach the place of your dwelling,/ in your raising up over the sphere of mind the Throne of Glory/ in the fields of concealment and splendor,/ at the source of the secret matter,/ where the mind reaches and yields?" Cole provides a passionate and scholarly introduction and textual notes, together totaling more than half of the book. ( Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved