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Layli and Majnun

Nezami Ganjavi author Dick Davis translator

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Penguin Books Ltd

Published:29th Jul '21

Should be back in stock very soon

Layli and Majnun cover

One of the great works of Persian literature in a masterful new translation

Called 'the Romeo and Juliet of the East' by Lord Byron, Layli and Majnun is a classic tale of forbidden love that gained widespread popularity following its depiction in this twelfth-century narrative poem. Much like the lovers in the Shakespearean classic, Layli and Majnun's star-crossed lovers have become icons of both Persian literature and popular culture thanks to Nizami's accessible narrative poem, which is translated here in rhyming couplets by the acclaimed poet and scholar of Persian literature Dick Davis.

“A highly engaging tale of impossible love . . . The first verse translation of the 12th-century Persian poet Nezami . . . Davis’s rhythmic translation is full of lush imagery.” ―Publishers Weekly

“Nezami . . . paints a visionary world full of erotic tension and trepidation which is both sublimated and enriched with psychological chiaroscuro.” ―Italo Calvino

ISBN: 9780143133995

Dimensions: 196mm x 128mm x 15mm

Weight: 226g

320 pages