Selected Poems of Solomon Ibn Gabirol

Ibn Gabirol

Princeton University Press, 04.03.2001 - 326 Seiten

Poet, philosopher, and sensitive misanthrope, a spectacular fly in the ointment of the refined eleventh-century Andalusian-Jewish elite, Solomon Ibn Gabirol comes down to us as one of the most complicated intellectual figures in the history of post-biblical Judaism. Unlike his worldly predecessor Shmuel HaNagid, the first important poet of the period, Ibn Gabirol was a reclusive, mystically inclined figure whose modern-sounding medieval poems range from sublime descriptions of the heavenly spheres to poisonous jabs at court life and its pretenders. His verse, which demonstrates complete mastery of the classicizing avant-garde poetics of the day, grafted an Arabic aesthetic onto a biblical vocabulary and Jewish setting, taking Hebrew poetry to a level of metaphysical sophistication and devotional power it has not achieved since.


Peter Cole's selection includes poems from nearly all of Ibn Gabirol's secular and liturgical lyric genres, as well as a complete translation of the poet's long masterwork, "Kingdom's Crown." Cole's rich, inventive introduction places the poetry in historical context and charts its influence through the centuries. Extensive annotations accompany the poems. This companion volume to Peter Cole's critically acclaimed Selected Poems of Shmuel HaNagid presents the first comprehensive selection of Ibn Gabirol's verse to be published in English and brings to life an astonishing body of poetry by one of the greatest Jewish writers of all time.

Inhalt

• FORGET ABOUT IF AND MAYBE: 47
• my souls portion and honor: 48
• Pushed I cowered seeing that I was still: 50
• If only my heartinitschest: 52
• I mix my blood with my tears: 58
• 70: 59
• and as long as I live Ill seek out in: 60
• 45: 64
• Through him all kings derive their power: 65
• ID GIVE UP MY SOUL ITSELF: 76
• 309: 86
• Keep them in mind as you go: 87
• Sphere of Fortuneturn and keep: 92
• It isnt good for my soul to be: 93
• WHEN YOU FIND YOURSELF ANGRY: 96
• I: 98
• As his wisdom wanders hearts terror draws near: 101
• and my hearts gates have always been open: 102
• but no one alive is saved from distress: 103
• in their seeking the place of Iam the: 123
• established an azure and inlaid circumference: 127
• AND SO IT CAME TO NOTHING: 129
• HAVENT I HIDDEN YOUR NAME: 130
• Through my prayer a man might profit: 138
• I: 139
• yours is the real which becomes existence: 140
• V: 144
• X: 151
• 30: 154
• each rank bows down before the One: 168
• XXXIII: 177
• I was ill with continual sickness: 181
• It overcame me and scattered my soldiers: 183
• 35: 185
• Just when he thinks his glory is great: 186
• The day is short and the work is great: 187
• When you put what Ive done on the scales: 189

Autoren-Profil

Peter Cole has published two volumes of poems and six volumes of translation from medieval and contemporary Hebrew and Arabic. He has received numerous awards for his work, including fellowships from the NEA and the NEH, and for his Selected Poems of Shmuel HaNagid the MLA-Scaglione Prize for Translation. He lives in Jerusalem.

Bibliografische Informationen

• Titel: Selected Poems of Solomon Ibn Gabirol; The Lockert Library of Poetry in Translation
• Autor/in: Ibn Gabirol
• Übersetzt von: Peter Cole
• Ausgabe: illustriert
• Verlag: Princeton University Press, 2001
• ISBN: 0691070326, 9780691070322
• Länge: 326 Seiten