Includes poems from nearly various of Ibn Gabirol's secular and liturgical lyric genres, as well as a translation of the poet's long masterwork, "Kingdom's Crown." This book contains an introduction, which places the poetry in historical context and charts its influence through the centuries.

Solomon Ibn Gabirol: An Andalusian Alphabet 3 FROM THE DIWAN OF SOLOMON IBN GABIROL Truth Seekers Turn 41 PERSONAL POEMS AND POEMS OF COURT I'm Prince to the Poem 45 My Words Are Driven 46 Forget About "If" and "Maybe" 47 Prologue to the Book of Grammar 49 My Condition Worsened 51 All My Desire 52 The Apple: I 53 The Rose 54 See the Sun 55 They Asked Me As Though They Were Mystified 56 On Leaving Saragossa 57 The Moon Was Cut 61 My Heart Thinks As the Sun Comes Up 62 The Palace Garden 63 Winter with Its Ink 66 The Garden 67 The Field 68 The Bee 69 Isn't the Sky 70 The Lily 71 Now the Thrushes 72 The Apple: II 73 The Lightning 74 The Lip of the Cup 75 I'd Give Up My Soul Itself 76 Tell the Boy 77 Be Smart with Your Love 78 All in Red 79 Shards 80 The Apple: III 81 You've Stolen My Words 82 The Altar of Song 83 Tell the Prince 84 What's Troubling You, My Soul 85 The Pen 88 What's With You 89 God-Fearing Men 90 Your Soul Strains and You Sigh 91 Don't Look Back 94 If This Life's Joy 95 When You Find Yourself Angry 96 I Am the Man 97 And Don't Be Astonished 99 The Tree 100 If You'd Live Among Men 104 Why Are You Frightened 105 A Kite 106 And Heart's Hollow 107 I Love You 108 POEMS OF DEVOTION Before My Being 111 Three Things 112 I Look for You 113 Forget Your Grief 114 The Hour of Song 117 Two Things Meet in Me 118 Small in My Awe 119 Open the Gate 120 My Thoughts Asked Me 121 Angels Amassing 122 All the Creatures of Earth and Heaven 124 He Dwells Forever 126 And So It Came to Nothing 129 Haven't I Hidden Your Name 130 Lord Who Listens 131 I've Made You My Refuge 132 Lips for Bullocks 133 I Take Great Pleasure 134 Send Your Spirit 135 You Lie in My Palace on Couches of Gold 136 KINGDOM'S CROWN 137 Notes 197 Bibliography 317

"Peter Cole's versions of Ibn Gabirol far surpass any previously available in English. "Kingdom's Crown" is particularly magnificent and is a superb literary achievement in itself."—Harold Bloom"Peter Cole's work is an entire revelation: a body of lyric and didactic verse so intense, so intelligent, and so vivid that it appears to identify a whole dimension of historical consciousness previously unavailable to us. His work represents the finest labor of poetic translation that I have seen in many years. I am wildly enthusiastic about this fine translation of Ibn Gabirol. It is a service to readers and to literature."—Richard Howard, Poetry Editor, Paris Review, winner of the 1983 National Book Award for his translation of Baudelaire's Les Fleurs du Mal

Peter Cole's versions of Ibn Gabirol far surpass any previously available in English. "Kingdom's Crown" is particularly magnificent and is a superb literary achievement in itself. -- Harold Bloom Peter Cole's work is an entire revelation: a body of lyric and didactic verse so intense, so intelligent, and so vivid that it appears to identify a whole dimension of historical consciousness previously unavailable to us. His work represents the finest labor of poetic translation that I have seen in many years. I am wildly enthusiastic about this fine translation of Ibn Gabirol. It is a service to readers and to literature. -- Richard Howard, Poetry Editor, "Paris Review", winner of the 1983 National Book Award for his translation of Baudelaire's "Les Fleurs du Mal"