I Heard God Laughing: Poems of Hope and Joy

I Heard God Laughing: Poems of Hope and Joy by Ladinsky, Daniel. paperback edition. ISBN: 9780143037811.

Daniel Ladinsky’s unforgettable lyrical poems are inspired by the cherished verse of Hafiz, one of the greatest Sufi poets of all time. To Persians, the poems of Hafiz are not “classical literature” from a remote past but cherished wisdom from a dear and intimate friend that continues to be quoted in daily life. With uncanny insight, Hafiz captures the many forms and stages of love. His poetry outlines the stages of the mystics “path of love”—a journey in which love dissolves personal boundaries and limitations to join larger processes of growth and transformation. Once again, Ladinsky reveals his talent for culling the essence of classic poetry for a modern audience. Ladinsky’s poems are not translations in a literal sense. Rather than capture the form of a particular classical work, Ladinsky’s aim is to craft poems that release the spirit of Hafiz.