The Conference of the Birds

by Farid Attar, Afkham Darbandi (Translator), Dick Davis (Translator), Afkham Darbandi (Introduction), Dick Davis (Introduction)

Overview

Composed in the twelfth century in north-eastern Iran, Attar's great mystical poem is among the most significant of all works of Persian literature. A marvellous, allegorical rendering of the Islamic doctrine of Sufism - an esoteric system concerned with the search for truth through God - it describes the consequences of the conference of the birds of the world when they meet to begin the search for their ideal king, the Simorgh bird. On hearing that to find him they must undertake an arduous journey, the birds soon express their reservations to their leader, the hoopoe. With eloquence and insight, however, the hoopoe calms their fears, using a series of riddling parables to provide guidance in the search for spiritual truth. By turns witty and profound, The Conference of the Birds transforms deep belief into magnificent poetry.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780141920955
Publisher:	Penguin UK
Publication date:	03/31/2005
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	911,366
File size:	592 KB

About the Author

Dick Davis is an English-American poet and translator. Before the Islamic Revolution, Davis lived in Iran and taught English at the University of Tehran. Davis is now a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and is considered to be one of the world's foremost translators of Persian literature.