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The Glance: Songs of Soul-Meeting
In 1244, the brilliant poet Rumi and the wandering dervish Shams of Tabriz met and immediately fell into a deep spiritual connection. The Glance taps a major, yet little explored theme in Rumi's poetry-the mystical experience that occurs in the meeting of the eyes of the lover and the beloved, parent and child, friend and soul mate.
Coleman Barks's new translations of these powerful and complex poems capture Rumi's range from the ethereal to the everyday. They reveal the unique place of human desire, love, and ecstasy, where there exists not just the union of two souls, but the crux of the universe.
Here is a new kind of love lyric for our time-one of longing, connection, and wholeness.
Coleman Barks's new translations of these powerful and complex poems capture Rumi's range from the ethereal to the everyday. They reveal the unique place of human desire, love, and ecstasy, where there exists not just the union of two souls, but the crux of the universe.
Here is a new kind of love lyric for our time-one of longing, connection, and wholeness.
128 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
43 people are currently reading
1163 people want to read
About the author
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi
1,168 books15.5k followersSufism inspired writings of Persian poet and mystic Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi; these writings express the longing of the soul for union with the divine.
Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī - also known as Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Balkhī, Mevlânâ/Mawlānā (مولانا, "our master"), Mevlevî/Mawlawī (مولوی, "my master") and more popularly simply as Rumi - was a 13th-century Persian poet, jurist, Islamic scholar, theologian and Sufi mystic who lived in Konya, a city of Ottoman Empire (Today's Turkey). His poems have been widely translated into many of the world's languages, and he has been described as the most popular poet and the best-selling poet in the United States.
His poetry has influenced Persian literature, but also Turkish, Ottoman Turkish, Azerbaijani, Punjabi, Hindi, and Urdu, as well as the literature of some other Turkic, Iranian, and Indo-Aryan languages including Chagatai, Pashto, and Bengali.
Due to quarrels between different dynasties in Khorāṣān, opposition to the Khwarizmid Shahs who were considered devious by his father, Bahā ud-Dīn Wālad or fear of the impending Mongol cataclysm, his father decided to migrate westwards, eventually settling in the Anatolian city Konya, where he lived most of his life, composed one of the crowning glories of Persian literature, and profoundly affected the culture of the area.
When his father died, Rumi, aged 25, inherited his position as the head of an Islamic school. One of Baha' ud-Din's students, Sayyed Burhan ud-Din Muhaqqiq Termazi, continued to train Rumi in the Shariah as well as the Tariqa, especially that of Rumi's father. For nine years, Rumi practised Sufism as a disciple of Burhan ud-Din until the latter died in 1240 or 1241. Rumi's public life then began: he became an Islamic Jurist, issuing fatwas and giving sermons in the mosques of Konya. He also served as a Molvi (Islamic teacher) and taught his adherents in the madrassa. During this period, Rumi also travelled to Damascus and is said to have spent four years there.
It was his meeting with the dervish Shams-e Tabrizi on 15 November 1244 that completely changed his life. From an accomplished teacher and jurist, Rumi was transformed into an ascetic.
On the night of 5 December 1248, as Rumi and Shams were talking, Shams was called to the back door. He went out, never to be seen again. Rumi's love for, and his bereavement at the death of, Shams found their expression in an outpouring of lyric poems, Divan-e Shams-e Tabrizi. He himself went out searching for Shams and journeyed again to Damascus.
Rumi found another companion in Salaḥ ud-Din-e Zarkub, a goldsmith. After Salah ud-Din's death, Rumi's scribe and favourite student, Hussam-e Chalabi, assumed the role of Rumi's companion. Hussam implored Rumi to write more. Rumi spent the next 12 years of his life in Anatolia dictating the six volumes of this masterwork, the Masnavi, to Hussam.
In December 1273, Rumi fell ill and died on the 17th of December in Konya.
Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī - also known as Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Balkhī, Mevlânâ/Mawlānā (مولانا, "our master"), Mevlevî/Mawlawī (مولوی, "my master") and more popularly simply as Rumi - was a 13th-century Persian poet, jurist, Islamic scholar, theologian and Sufi mystic who lived in Konya, a city of Ottoman Empire (Today's Turkey). His poems have been widely translated into many of the world's languages, and he has been described as the most popular poet and the best-selling poet in the United States.
His poetry has influenced Persian literature, but also Turkish, Ottoman Turkish, Azerbaijani, Punjabi, Hindi, and Urdu, as well as the literature of some other Turkic, Iranian, and Indo-Aryan languages including Chagatai, Pashto, and Bengali.
Due to quarrels between different dynasties in Khorāṣān, opposition to the Khwarizmid Shahs who were considered devious by his father, Bahā ud-Dīn Wālad or fear of the impending Mongol cataclysm, his father decided to migrate westwards, eventually settling in the Anatolian city Konya, where he lived most of his life, composed one of the crowning glories of Persian literature, and profoundly affected the culture of the area.
When his father died, Rumi, aged 25, inherited his position as the head of an Islamic school. One of Baha' ud-Din's students, Sayyed Burhan ud-Din Muhaqqiq Termazi, continued to train Rumi in the Shariah as well as the Tariqa, especially that of Rumi's father. For nine years, Rumi practised Sufism as a disciple of Burhan ud-Din until the latter died in 1240 or 1241. Rumi's public life then began: he became an Islamic Jurist, issuing fatwas and giving sermons in the mosques of Konya. He also served as a Molvi (Islamic teacher) and taught his adherents in the madrassa. During this period, Rumi also travelled to Damascus and is said to have spent four years there.
It was his meeting with the dervish Shams-e Tabrizi on 15 November 1244 that completely changed his life. From an accomplished teacher and jurist, Rumi was transformed into an ascetic.
On the night of 5 December 1248, as Rumi and Shams were talking, Shams was called to the back door. He went out, never to be seen again. Rumi's love for, and his bereavement at the death of, Shams found their expression in an outpouring of lyric poems, Divan-e Shams-e Tabrizi. He himself went out searching for Shams and journeyed again to Damascus.
Rumi found another companion in Salaḥ ud-Din-e Zarkub, a goldsmith. After Salah ud-Din's death, Rumi's scribe and favourite student, Hussam-e Chalabi, assumed the role of Rumi's companion. Hussam implored Rumi to write more. Rumi spent the next 12 years of his life in Anatolia dictating the six volumes of this masterwork, the Masnavi, to Hussam.
In December 1273, Rumi fell ill and died on the 17th of December in Konya.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
June 5, 2017
"What is the heart? It is not human, and it is not imaginary. I call it you."
The meeting of Rumi and Shams of Tabrizi in the 13th Century is one of the greatest creative mysteries of all time! The Sun (Shams means Sun) met the Moon (as Rumi was referred to) and from their union the Universe revealed itself in poetry. Their destiny, the synergy of their meeting, revealed universal truths!
Rumi was an esteemed jurist when by chance he met the vagabond Shams one day on the street. And after that one "glance," moment of recognition, and exchange of words, they became inseparable. They spent time alone in sohbet-- long, soulful conversations (sohbet is still a word we use in Turkish!). Though theirs was a meeting of the hearts and minds, after a few years, Shams disappeared, never to be seen again. The longing for Shams inspired Rumi to write some of the greatest poetry in the cannons of literature and turned him from a jurist to a mystic. This book is a beautiful homage to their "soul friendship."
It is unmistakeable that there would be no Rumi, as we know him, without Shams. There is a mystery behind such connections, how they can transform us, how our souls can sprout upon meeting a certain someone.
I loved this book of Rumi poetry, which explores the realm of soul friendships and connections! The quote below is just a taste...
"I've traded my soul for the universe...What has happened in me is more profound, like a fish underwater beginning to say words! A transparent tree grows in the night-sky orchard where I have found a little corner to be in, as when two planets intersect. I have met Shams."
The meeting of Rumi and Shams of Tabrizi in the 13th Century is one of the greatest creative mysteries of all time! The Sun (Shams means Sun) met the Moon (as Rumi was referred to) and from their union the Universe revealed itself in poetry. Their destiny, the synergy of their meeting, revealed universal truths!
Rumi was an esteemed jurist when by chance he met the vagabond Shams one day on the street. And after that one "glance," moment of recognition, and exchange of words, they became inseparable. They spent time alone in sohbet-- long, soulful conversations (sohbet is still a word we use in Turkish!). Though theirs was a meeting of the hearts and minds, after a few years, Shams disappeared, never to be seen again. The longing for Shams inspired Rumi to write some of the greatest poetry in the cannons of literature and turned him from a jurist to a mystic. This book is a beautiful homage to their "soul friendship."
It is unmistakeable that there would be no Rumi, as we know him, without Shams. There is a mystery behind such connections, how they can transform us, how our souls can sprout upon meeting a certain someone.
I loved this book of Rumi poetry, which explores the realm of soul friendships and connections! The quote below is just a taste...
"I've traded my soul for the universe...What has happened in me is more profound, like a fish underwater beginning to say words! A transparent tree grows in the night-sky orchard where I have found a little corner to be in, as when two planets intersect. I have met Shams."
December 30, 2007
Coleman Barks continues his excellent translations of master Rumi's works. There are several stand out poems but the two lines that linger are:
1. "Love cannot be said."
-from "The Taste of Morning"
2. "My mouth tastes sweet with your name in it."
-from "Daring Enough to Finish"
Given the conceit that the inspiration of these poems was Rumi's "soul-friendship" with Shams of Tabriz, there is something wonderfully queer about the texts, or at least Barks' translation. From "In Love That Long": I turn my face to you, and into/eternity:/we have been in/love that long."
1. "Love cannot be said."
-from "The Taste of Morning"
2. "My mouth tastes sweet with your name in it."
-from "Daring Enough to Finish"
Given the conceit that the inspiration of these poems was Rumi's "soul-friendship" with Shams of Tabriz, there is something wonderfully queer about the texts, or at least Barks' translation. From "In Love That Long": I turn my face to you, and into/eternity:/we have been in/love that long."
August 22, 2007
Fierce Courtesy
The connection to the Friend
is secret and very fragile.
The image of that friendship
is in how you love, the grace
and delicacey, the subtle talking
together, in full prostration,
outside of time. When you're
there, remember the fierce
courtesy of the one with you.
The connection to the Friend
is secret and very fragile.
The image of that friendship
is in how you love, the grace
and delicacey, the subtle talking
together, in full prostration,
outside of time. When you're
there, remember the fierce
courtesy of the one with you.
June 24, 2012
If I could only have one book, this would be the book. It says something new to me every time I pick it up.
November 19, 2019
I picked up this poetry book by the one & only Rumi from my shelf the other day & BREEZED through it. This book is about Rumi falling into a deep soul connection with Shama of Tabeiz. Rumi has a very elegant way of writing that is quite captivating & enjoyable, but I must say... This was a bit too religious of a read for me. The truth is one but goes by many names! I know this to be true, but this book reallllllly harped on her God too much for my liking & it truly turned me off from the book. That’s not easy for me to admit, but it has merit. That being said, ASIDE from all the God talk, I really enjoyed this & understood her underlying theme. Rumi writes about love, acceptance, & being very beautifully. I really did like this overall.
July 9, 2016
Short collection of some of Rumi’s poems. Rumi was heavily inspired by Shams of Tabriz and a chance encounter they had in Konya in modern-day Turkey. The story goes that Rumi was sitting in an open place near a fountain teaching to a group of individuals through some of the books that he had with him at the time. Shams appeared from nowhere and starter throwing the books into the fountain. Rumi asks Shams who he is and what it is he is doing. Shams demands of Rumi to live from this day on what it is that he has learnt and has been preaching. Shams pulls one of the books out of the water and it is dry. Rumi asks him to leave them there and from that day their incredible friendship is formed. 4 stars because of a fault in my own stars really as I just didn’t get parts of it but when you do get what Rumi is talking about the allegory is incredible:
• “Will you meet me on the outside or the inside?” – Not from Rumi but a quote from the discussion that the translator Coleman Barks had with one of his spiritual mentors. What an incredible question to ask someone when you meet them.
• Time's knife slides from its sheath as a fish from where it swims.
• When I see you it is not so much our physical form, but the company of 2 riders, your pure fire devotion and your love for the one who teaches you: then the sun and moon on foot behind those.
• “Words muddy the truth like an ultracrepidarian smudging the smile of a Leonardo classic.” – Sunny Khan
• I became a mirror that cannot close its eyes to your longing.
• Language is the annoying clatter in the mill of meaning
• When I stop speaking this poem will close and open its silent wings.
• My chest is a grave you made a rose garden
• “Will you meet me on the outside or the inside?” – Not from Rumi but a quote from the discussion that the translator Coleman Barks had with one of his spiritual mentors. What an incredible question to ask someone when you meet them.
• Time's knife slides from its sheath as a fish from where it swims.
• When I see you it is not so much our physical form, but the company of 2 riders, your pure fire devotion and your love for the one who teaches you: then the sun and moon on foot behind those.
• “Words muddy the truth like an ultracrepidarian smudging the smile of a Leonardo classic.” – Sunny Khan
• I became a mirror that cannot close its eyes to your longing.
• Language is the annoying clatter in the mill of meaning
• When I stop speaking this poem will close and open its silent wings.
• My chest is a grave you made a rose garden
October 11, 2017
Better as philosophy, spirituality and/or religion (it depends on the poem) than poetry.
Reading Rumi feels more like listening to a spiritual master, theologian or scholar than to a great poet (bear in mind that great mystic poets such as John of the Cross or Saint Teresa of Ávila were ultimately neurotics, an alien concept to apply to Rumi but a fruitful one in the world of arts as we know due to most of the greatest artists throughout history), because he was indeed the former things and not the latter, and it's okay that way. You cannot really expect juicy poetry from a celibate jurist..., can you? There are some things in his poetry that you don't find in romantic or artsy/intellectual poetry, though, which is to appreciate, but it isn't nearly as good at being poetry as those types —then again, Rumi didn't intend to write masterpieces, so he didn't.
While reading Rumi, what Osho said about Omar Khayyam was present in my mind almost in every poem, being the exceptions to that the poems I enjoyed the most, for their poetic quality ( "Jars of Springwater") or even modern one ("What Have You Been Drinking?"):
http://www.osho.com/iosho/library/rea...
Reading Rumi feels more like listening to a spiritual master, theologian or scholar than to a great poet (bear in mind that great mystic poets such as John of the Cross or Saint Teresa of Ávila were ultimately neurotics, an alien concept to apply to Rumi but a fruitful one in the world of arts as we know due to most of the greatest artists throughout history), because he was indeed the former things and not the latter, and it's okay that way. You cannot really expect juicy poetry from a celibate jurist..., can you? There are some things in his poetry that you don't find in romantic or artsy/intellectual poetry, though, which is to appreciate, but it isn't nearly as good at being poetry as those types —then again, Rumi didn't intend to write masterpieces, so he didn't.
While reading Rumi, what Osho said about Omar Khayyam was present in my mind almost in every poem, being the exceptions to that the poems I enjoyed the most, for their poetic quality ( "Jars of Springwater") or even modern one ("What Have You Been Drinking?"):
http://www.osho.com/iosho/library/rea...
January 29, 2020
More nature/life poems than the love poems I like, but Rumi is always lovely.
January 4, 2022
Decent entry level book for Rumi, but not sure how I felt about the translation.
December 3, 2014
The beauty and simplicity of Rumi speak for themselves and the magic of this little volume jumps out of every page transcending time and space, culture and faith. Such is the wonder of this tiny little book that I carry it everywhere with me. Here is a sample from one of my favourites, "would you bow?"
"If the Friend rose inside you, would you
bow? Would you wonder where that one
came from and how?"
And later ....
"Be silent and revolve with no will.
Don't raise your head to ask anything."
Trust me - read "the glance"
"If the Friend rose inside you, would you
bow? Would you wonder where that one
came from and how?"
And later ....
"Be silent and revolve with no will.
Don't raise your head to ask anything."
Trust me - read "the glance"
March 31, 2012
It's poetry, so I think 90% of it went way over my head. I don't usually have the patience to think poems through, but my copy was vandalized in the most peculiar way...
I got to the end and I didn't even try to shoot myself, it must be good then, right?
I got to the end and I didn't even try to shoot myself, it must be good then, right?
April 5, 2024
This book of poetry by the Sufi mystic Rumi was absolutely fascinating and moving. I really enjoyed the introduction by translator Coleman Barks. The copy I found at a thrift shop was signed by Barks, which was incredibly exciting! Below is my favorite poem from the book called "Word Fog." The poem conveys the power of words, and the limitation of words.
"Words, even if they come from
the soul, hide the soul, as fog
rising off the sea covers the sea,
the coast, the fish, the pearls.
It's noble work to build coherent
philosophical discourses, but
they block out the sun of truth.
See God's qualities as an ocean,
this world as foam on the purity
of that. Brush away and look
through the alphabet to essence,
as you do the hair covering your
beloved's eyes. Here's the mystery:
this intricate, astonishing world
is proof of God's presence even as
it covers the beauty. One flake
from the wall of a gold mine does
not give much idea what it's like
when the sun shines in and turns
the air and the workers golden."- Rumi
"Words, even if they come from
the soul, hide the soul, as fog
rising off the sea covers the sea,
the coast, the fish, the pearls.
It's noble work to build coherent
philosophical discourses, but
they block out the sun of truth.
See God's qualities as an ocean,
this world as foam on the purity
of that. Brush away and look
through the alphabet to essence,
as you do the hair covering your
beloved's eyes. Here's the mystery:
this intricate, astonishing world
is proof of God's presence even as
it covers the beauty. One flake
from the wall of a gold mine does
not give much idea what it's like
when the sun shines in and turns
the air and the workers golden."- Rumi
November 22, 2018
Without a net, I catch a falcon and release it to the sky, hunting
God. This wine I drink today was never held in a clay jar. I love
this world, even as I hear the great wind of leaving it rising, for there
is a grainy taste I prefer to every idea of heaven: human friendship.
-Grainy Taste, Jelaluddin Rumi
.
.
.
Rumi's poetical works come out as a media to reflect and smooth the soul. His journeys in seeking His Divine is always be an interesting topic to be written. .
.
.
#mevlanajalaluddinrumi #mewlanajalaluddinrumi#jalaluddinrumi #rumi #persianpoetry #persianpoet#shamstabrizi #literature #booklover #bibliophile#ilovereading #igreads #igbook #instaread#instabooks #bookish #bookshelf #bookaholic#letsread #bookstagramindonesia #poem #poetry #bookphotography #booknerd #lovereading#bookofinstagram #bookstagram #descaslibrary #descalibrary
God. This wine I drink today was never held in a clay jar. I love
this world, even as I hear the great wind of leaving it rising, for there
is a grainy taste I prefer to every idea of heaven: human friendship.
-Grainy Taste, Jelaluddin Rumi
.
.
.
Rumi's poetical works come out as a media to reflect and smooth the soul. His journeys in seeking His Divine is always be an interesting topic to be written. .
.
.
#mevlanajalaluddinrumi #mewlanajalaluddinrumi#jalaluddinrumi #rumi #persianpoetry #persianpoet#shamstabrizi #literature #booklover #bibliophile#ilovereading #igreads #igbook #instaread#instabooks #bookish #bookshelf #bookaholic#letsread #bookstagramindonesia #poem #poetry #bookphotography #booknerd #lovereading#bookofinstagram #bookstagram #descaslibrary #descalibrary
December 15, 2023
"Not since the popularity of The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran in the 1960s has a poet made such a dent in American culture." This is certainly true for me, one who does not read much poetry; but Rumi (and Hafiz) express "...longing, connection and wholeness" in down-to-earth, even practical ways. Then, they as easily reveal through metaphors - deep and ecstatic joy of being with the Beloved. They say that in the middle east, children memorize ecstatic poems like these, and everyone is able to quote them. I think it's beyond a rating ... it will touch people in so many different ways. It must be 100 for those with eyes to see and 0 for the rest of us.
June 27, 2019
Rumi's poetry is a fantastic example of the kind of gracefully wandering sets of beautiful images that characterize medieval Persian poetry. This particular set of poems (put together by the translator, not necessarily by Rumi himself) deals with the poet's connection with his friend Shamz, who seems often to stand in the position of God. Rumi uses delightful nature imagery to explore the metaphysical dimensions of this friendship and its ability to define his whole image/self-consciousness.
November 9, 2023
I can see how Rumi can be read as a meditation. Again, not sure if it's translator or if I just have a hard time with earnest heartwarming subjects, but wasn't feeling it. Happy I read some Rumi finally though and will probably come back at some point
February 8, 2018
Really great, I will have to listen to this again sometime.
It's a bit odd hearing a southern United States accent reciting Rumi but I'm from Tennessee so it just sounded wonderful.
It's a bit odd hearing a southern United States accent reciting Rumi but I'm from Tennessee so it just sounded wonderful.
October 29, 2018
The audio wasn't a success to me, I found the backing music distracting...
January 20, 2019
Knowing Rumi and Coleman's translation, I was hoping for something better.
Some basic spiritual insights are there though...
Some basic spiritual insights are there though...
January 30, 2019
Perfect beautiful book to keep you in a good mood.
December 6, 2021
Love Rumi, especially as translated by Barks. I actually listened to it twice back to back.
September 25, 2022
Not my favorite of the available Rumi books, but it’s a nice little collector’s edition with some beautiful artwork.
December 10, 2024
i think they've got it figured out. read these as prayers every morning and moved slightly differently
March 18, 2020
Peace and love!
Its a pleasure to even realize the depth of pain and love, when Rumi would have written these poems.
Its a pleasure to even realize the depth of pain and love, when Rumi would have written these poems.
August 24, 2019
A breathtaking book. It is one I will come back to again and again. This collection of poems from Rumi's 'Divan', flows from the love and loss of Rumi's friend Shams of Tabriz. The internalised friendship becomes the mystical inner 'thou' - a place of dialogue with the self, with the beloved other, with the 'divine' and the absence which permeates all of life. It is reminiscent of Thomas Merton. And as another reviewer commented, there is an undeclared queerness about it which transcends easy categories.
I like Coleman Barks' rendering of the poems. I think 'translation' is the wrong word and it is not what Barks claims to do. He does not know Persian nor does he reproduce the strict forms and metres of the original works. He uses Nevit Ergin's English translations of Golpinarli's Turkish translations from the Persian, and beautifully re-works them into free style poetry, as true as it can be "to the fire and ecstasy of the ghazals in the Divan".
Grief lives between the cat paws.
You can say eek-eek or gehk-gohk,
but there's no way to escape.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghazal
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumi
I like Coleman Barks' rendering of the poems. I think 'translation' is the wrong word and it is not what Barks claims to do. He does not know Persian nor does he reproduce the strict forms and metres of the original works. He uses Nevit Ergin's English translations of Golpinarli's Turkish translations from the Persian, and beautifully re-works them into free style poetry, as true as it can be "to the fire and ecstasy of the ghazals in the Divan".
Grief lives between the cat paws.
You can say eek-eek or gehk-gohk,
but there's no way to escape.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghazal
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumi
November 21, 2014
So you've read, and continue to treasure the foundational tome, that heartland of Sufi wisdom and wonder that is 'The Essential Rumi'. While the latter is inexhaustible in its exhibition of beautiful renderings of Jalal al Din Rumi by Barks, Nicholson and John, this much slimmer collection of poems demonstrates Coleman Barks' unparalleled grasp of the spiritual essence of Sufi poetry. Barks has carefully gathered together poems of Rumi's that speak to the concept of 'the glance', an encounter in which two souls meet in the mirror of eachother's eyes. But The Glance is so much more that this explanation can evoke, and it is in Barks' quite personal and allegorical preface and introduction, in which he frames the concept of soul-meeting, that I found a new appreciation for and understanding of Rumi and of the deeper wisdom captured within his words.
September 12, 2014
I didn't realize how deep my need for these words was until I starting reading Rumi. There's wondrous life in his poetry.
"...Love is the soul's
light, the taste of morning, no me, no
we, no claim of being. These words
are the smoke the fire gives off as it
absolves its defects, as eyes in silence,
tears, face. Love cannot be said."
"...Love is the soul's
light, the taste of morning, no me, no
we, no claim of being. These words
are the smoke the fire gives off as it
absolves its defects, as eyes in silence,
tears, face. Love cannot be said."
December 2, 2013
Maybe it was because this book is a translation, but I just couldn't get into it. Some of the poems flew over my head, and some I just didn't like. In fact, I only found three favorites:
Fastened to a Pole
Undressing
Thorn Witness
I'll have to give another Rumi collection a try. But I'm going to take a while before I do.
Fastened to a Pole
Undressing
Thorn Witness
I'll have to give another Rumi collection a try. But I'm going to take a while before I do.
September 1, 2014
I don't know if it was the translation or if I don't care for Rumi. I've read various quotes by him and thought them insightful, but so much of this for me was like describing a beautiful sunset by saying it was like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
Maybe it's just me, maybe it's the translation. Not totally giving up on Rumi, next time I'll likely avoid translations by Colman.
Maybe it's just me, maybe it's the translation. Not totally giving up on Rumi, next time I'll likely avoid translations by Colman.
March 8, 2014
This little book of love poems has a most amazing introduction by Coleman Barks. In it he tells several versions of the story of how Mevlana met Shams. The poems themselves are wonderful (Rumi just IS wonderful) and you'll surely want to pass this book along to a lover or friend.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews