When Rumi was born in Afghanistan in 1207, it was a time of tremendous political turmoil in the Near East. Paradoxically, it was also a time of "brilliant mystical awareness," writes translator Coleman Barks in The Soul of Rumi. This brilliance shines through in every passage, as Barks celebrates the ecstatic nature of Rumi's poetry. Barks (The Essential Rumi) has been given much credit for leading modern Westerners to this astounding poet. His sensitivity to the reader is evidenced in how he organizes the poetry according to themes. Since Rumi is often quoted at public gatherings, such as weddings and memorial services, this makes referencing especially easy. In the section entitled "When Friend Meets Friend," readers find the poem "The Soul's Friend": The most living moment comes when those who love each other meet each other's eyes and in what flows between them then. To see your face in a crowd of others, or alone on a frightening street, I weep for that…. Barks offers a gracefully rendered introduction to each section, providing personal and historical background of the poetry. Elegantly designed and printed on cream-colored, heavy-stock paper, this is a delight for Rumi fans. --Gail Hudson


From Publishers Weekly
The Islamic mystical poet Rumi (1207- 1273) improvised the evocative poems which his followers wrote down. Translator Coleman Barks's The Essential Rumi won the Persian writer American fans, some of whom revere the poet as a religious guide. Now Barks is back with The Soul of Rumi: A New Collection of Ecstatic Poems. The giant volume includes part of Rumi's 64,000-line Masnavi, as well as many short poems and Barks's copious, informal, personal commentary. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Coleman Barks' translations of Rumi's poems have been instrumental in making Rumi the cultural icon he has become in America. That is in part due to Barks' willingness, even eagerness, to downplay the Islamic foundation of these ecstatic poems. Barks portrays Rumi as a universal mystic, which may arouse the ire of scholars but doesn't dent the appeal of Barks' versions. This new collection, mostly of poems Barks hasn't previously tackled, is likely to maintain that appeal. Presenting the poems in small thematic groups, Barks may not be as concerned with historical context as are Philip Dunn and his associates in The Illustrated Rumi [BKL F 1 01], but he offers the very best of Rumi's beautiful and challenging imagery. The metaphorical representation of fana, the annihilation into God, is brought into particularly compelling focus: "A moth flying into the flame says with its wingfire, try this." Many may never know the Qur'anic verses reflected in Rumi's lines, but as long as Barks is translating them, they will remain popular in English. John Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Booklist
The best of Rumi's beautiful and challenging imagery.


Yoga Journal
Coleman Barks's Rumi translations [make] Rumi's raptures accessible in language at once ordinary and lyrical.


Jack Kornfield, author of A Path with Heart
The gold of Rumi pours down through Coleman's words. The words leap off the page and dance!


Jerry Stahl, in Shout NY
Rumi will transform you, in ways you didn't know you needed transforming.


Book Description
"Inside a lover's heart there's another world, and yet another."

Rumi's delightful yet profound poems have inspired countless people throughout the centuries, and Coleman Barks's exquisite renderings of the thirteenth-century Persian mystic are widely considered the definitive versions for our time. Barks's translations capture the inward exploration and intensity that characterize Rumi's poetry, making this unique voice of mysticism and desire contemporary while remaining true to the original poems. In these pages you will encounter the essence of Sufism's insights into the experience of love in all its varieties, life's mystery and wonder, and the nature of both humanity and God.

While Barks's stamp on this collection is clear, it is Rumi's unique vision and voice that leap off the page with a rapturous power that leaves readers breathless. These poems express our deepest yearning for the transcendent connection with the source of the divine: There are passionate outbursts about the torment of longing for the beloved and the sweet delight that come from union; stories of sexual adventures and of loss; poems of love and fury, sadness and joy; and quiet truths about the beauty and variety of human emotion. For Rumi, soul and body and emotion are not separate but are rather part of the great mystery of mortal life, a riddle whose solution is love.

Above all else, Rumi's poetry exposes us to the delight that comes from being fully alive, urging us always to put aside our fears and take the risk of discovering our core self. "No one knows what makes the soul wake up so happy! Maybe a dawn breeze has blown the veil from the face of god."

These fresh, original translations magnificently convey Rumi's insights into the human heart and its longings with his signature passion and daring, focusing on the ecstatic experience of the inseparability of human and divine love. The match between Rumi's sublime poetry and Coleman Barks's poetic art are unequaled, and here this artistic union is raised to new heights.


About the Author
Coleman Barks is a renowned poet who taught English and creative writing at the University of Georgia for many years. His appearances on Bill Moyers's two PBS poetry series brought him wide acclaim. He now focuses on writing and on performing Rumi poetry in readings and concerts.

FROM OUR EDITORS

"Leave the rind / and descend into the pith / Fold within fold, the beloved / drowns in its own being." The poetry of Jalil Al-Din Rumi (1207-1273) brims with self-extinguishing refinements, each of which draws you in with its alluring elusiveness. Tactile, mystical, and ruminative by turns, the verse of this 13th-century Sufi has evoked disparate readings over the centuries. This rendering, by poet Coleman Barks, has won praise from both fellow poets and Rumi specialists.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

The Soul of Rumi presents entirely new translations of Rumi's poems—published for the first time—by Coleman Barks, the man most responsible for making Rumi the bestselling poet in America. Focusing on the ecstatic experience of human and divine love and their inseparability, the poems range over the breadth of Rumi's themes: silence, emptiness, play, God, peace, grief, sexuality, music, and more.

This one-of-a-kind volume captures Rumi's beloved passion, daring, and insights into the longing of the heart as only Barks can do.

FROM THE CRITICS

Jack Kornfield

The gold of Rumi pours down through Coleman's words. The words leap off the page and dance!

Publishers Weekly