On the Translation Lyn Coffin's translation shows superb technical mastery of the elaborate shairi form used by Shota Rustaveli in his 12th century epic, The Knight in the Panther Skin. Coffin is faithful to both meter and rhyme, yet does not lose the beauty of Rustaveli's poetry. Most previous English translators such as Katherine Vivian or R.H. Stevenson, favored free verse, but Coffin has preserved the structure as well as the splendor of Rustaveli's great adventure story. Coffin is both a meticulous wordsmith and a passionate artist who has combined both these talents to produce one of the most accurate and readable translations into English of Rustaveli's epic over the last forty years.
Stephen Jones
Professor of Russian and Eurasian Studies, Mount Holyoke College
Author of 'Georgia: A Political History Since Independence'