on May 25, 2003
There is a reason Coleman Barks's free "renderings" of Rumi (and of other medieval mystic poets, including Hafiz) sell so well: they're often witty, poetic, even sexy. Whereas there is none of that in THIS collection by Crowe. Instead, you get at least 30 repetitive pieces (I lost count) out of 100 that all begin or contain minimal variations on the line "Winebringer! Bring me more Wine!" What this collection is I don't know, but it's neither scholarship nor poetry. "Poor Hafiz!" (as the Persian sometimes refers to himself) has taken on a new meaning indeed in the hands of someone like Crowe.