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    Mystical Poems of Rumi
    Mystical Poems of Rumi
    Mystical Poems of Rumi
    Ebook432 pages7 hours

    Mystical Poems of Rumi

    By Jalal al-Din Rumi, A. J. Arberry, Ehsan Yarshater and

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    My verse resembles the bread of Egypt—night passes over it, and you cannot eat it any more.
    Devour it the moment it is fresh, before the dust settles upon it.
    Its place is the warm climate of the heart; in this world it dies of cold.
    Like a fish it quivered for an instant on dry land, another moment and you see it is cold.
    Even if you eat it imagining it is fresh, it is necessary to conjure up many images.
    What you drink is really your own imagination; it is no old tale, my good man.

    Jalal al-Din Rumi (1207–73), legendary Persian Muslim poet, theologian, and mystic, wrote poems acclaimed through the centuries for their powerful spiritual images and provocative content, which often described Rumi’s love for God in romantic or erotic terms. His vast body of work includes more than three thousand lyrics and odes. This volume includes four hundred poems selected by renowned Rumi scholar A. J. Arberry, who provides here one of the most comprehensive and adept English translations of this enigmatic genius. Mystical Poems is the definitive resource for anyone seeking an introduction to or an enriched understanding of one of the world’s greatest poets.
     
    “Rumi is one of the world’s greatest lyrical poets in any language—as well as probably the most accessible and approachable representative of Islamic civilization for Western students.”—James W. Morris, Oberlin College  
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherUniversity of Chicago Press
    Release dateApr 15, 2010
    ISBN9780226731636
    Mystical Poems of Rumi

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    • 2/5
      So one night I got all hopped up on the idea of getting my poetry collection all entered into goodreads, so spent the evening transporting stacks of books from my shelves to my computer and back, entering ISBNs. Many books I spent some time flipping through, trying to remember if I'd read them all the way through, and if so, what I'd thought of them. This book was so short, I thought, "I should just read it now, and I'll know for sure."

      This book was, sadly, a disappointment. It was Rumi, alright, so there was wisdom, and irreverence, and reverence, and love. But the translations just didn't sing to me. They were too heavy, somehow. Just as I was thinking how much better I loved Coleman Barks's translations, I reached the end, where Chopra confesses how his work was inspired by Barks, and he includes a few of Barks's versions of examples and immediately I found them as moving as Chopra's versions weren't. These were cleaner, brighter, somehow. More fully realized in a modern poetic sensibility.

      Okay, that last sentence gave me the vapours. I need to go lie down.

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