Sa'di

The Poet of Life, Love and Compassion

Homa Katouzian

• Publisher: Oneworld Academic
• eBook ISBN:
  9781780742014
• Year: 2012

One of greatest Persian writers of both classical prose and poetry, Sa'di was revered in his time as a man of great wisdom and passion. Sometimes said to have lived over one hundred years, the body of his work was written in the thirteenth century. Filled with extracts of the poet's melodious and insightful writing, and critical analysis thereof, this revealing biography examines why he was so idolised until the 1950s, and why since then he has fallen into relative obscurity. Focussing on the themes of both physical and spiritual love stitched through Sa'di's writing, as well as the impact of his many years travelling, Katouzian sheds a unique insight on the man he calls 'the poet of loving and living'.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title page
• Copyright page
• Dedication page
• Contents
• PREFACE
• 1 SA‘DI, THE CLASSICS AND THE MODERNS
• 2 LIFE AND WORKS
• 3 SONGS OF LOVE AND ODES TO BEAUTY
• 4 REALITY AND APPEARANCE: MYSTICISM AND LOGIC
• 5 TEACHING MANNERS AND MORALS
• 6 THE WAYS OF SHAHS AND VIZIERS
• CONCLUDING REMARKS
• Endnotes
• Selected Bibliography
• Index