Coleman Barks translates the thirteenth-century Sufi mystic’s Persian verses into contemporary English free verse. The collection focuses on the annihilation of the ego through divine love and the recognition of the sacred within physical reality. Rumi utilizes domestic metaphors—chickpeas in a pot, wood becoming fire, and the movements of a tavern—to illustrate the concept of Fana, or the dissolving of the self into God. The poems describe the relationship between the seeker and the spiritual teacher, Shams of Tabriz, through themes of longing, silence, and physical ecstasy.
Readers interested in Islamic mysticism and Sufi philosophy study these translations to understand the intersection of the human and the divine. Musicians and artists use these rhythmic structures to inform their creative processes. The text provides a framework for looking past religious dogma to find a direct internal connection with the absolute. Individuals walk away with a vocabulary for describing spiritual loneliness and a perspective that treats every emotional state as a visitor in a guest house, worthy of observation without attachment.
Deep, inward-looking and contemplative; a moderate read.
Best for readers like The Mindful Reader. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 1273
- Language
- EN
