In this Book
- Selected Poems of Solomon Ibn Gabirol
- Book
- 2016
- Published by: Princeton University Press
- Series: Lockert Library of Poetry in Translation
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.
Table of Contents
- FROM THE DIWAN OF SOLOMON IBN GABIROL
- Truth Seekers Turn
- pp. 41-42
- PERSONAL POEMS AND POEMS OF COURT
- My Words Are Driven
- p. 46
- Forget About “If ” and “Maybe”
- pp. 47-48
- Prologue to the Book of Grammar
- pp. 49-50
- All My Desire
- p. 52
- The Apple: I
- p. 53
- See the Sun
- p. 55
- On Leaving Saragossa
- pp. 57-60
- The Moon Was Cut
- p. 61
- The Palace Garden
- pp. 63-65
- Winter with Its Ink
- p. 66
- The Garden
- p. 67
- Isn’t the Sky
- p. 70
- Now the Thrushes
- p. 72
- The Apple: II
- p. 73
- The Lightning
- p. 74
- The Lip of the Cup
- p. 75
- Tell the Boy
- p. 77
- All in Red
- p. 79
- The Apple: III
- p. 81
- The Altar of Song
- p. 83
- Tell the Prince
- p. 84
- What’s Troubling You, My Soul
- pp. 85-87
- What’s With You
- p. 89
- God-Fearing Men
- p. 90
- Your Soul Strains and You Sigh
- pp. 91-93
- Don’t Look Back
- p. 94
- If This Life’s Joy
- p. 95
- I Am the Man
- pp. 97-98
- If You’d Live Among Men
- p. 104
- Why Are You Frightened
- p. 105
- And Heart’s Hollow
- p. 107
- I Love You
- p. 108
- POEMS OF DEVOTION
- Before My Being
- p. 111
- Three Things
- p. 112
- I Look for You
- p. 113
- Forget Your Grief
- pp. 114-116
- The Hour of Song
- p. 117
- Two Things Meet in Me
- p. 118
- Small in My Awe
- p. 119
- Open the Gate
- p. 120
- My Thoughts Asked Me
- p. 121
- Angels Amassing
- pp. 122-123
- All the Creatures of Earth and Heaven
- pp. 124-125
- He Dwells Forever
- pp. 126-128
- Lord Who Listens
- p. 131
- I’ve Made You My Refuge
- p. 132
- Lips for Bullocks
- p. 133
- I Take Great Pleasure
- p. 134
- Send Your Spirit
- p. 135
- KINGDOM’S CROWN
- pp. 137-196
- Bibliography
- pp. 317-328