The Soul of Rumi: A New Collection of Ecstatic Poems [B0561-PB]

2002 french-flap PB in nice clean condition. Inside A Lover's Heart There's Another World, And Yet Another. Rumi's masterpieces 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. While Barks's stamp on this collection is clear, it is Rumi's voice that leaps off these pages 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 comes 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.

From Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "A beautiful book. I am a huge fan of the Coleman Barks Rumi books and this one is the place to start. Barks starts off with the best history of Rumi I have found. If you want a pure academic translation of Rumi, this is not it. I have read some of those and found them boring and disappointing in comparison to what Barks does.
For me, the magic is when Barks, a poet and writer himself, actively interacts with Rumi's writings. I'm never sure how much is Rumi and how much is Barks at any point, but the result is pure mind-tickling, consciousness-expanding magic. I think Barks is bringing the spirit of Rumi to life and I think Rumi would heartily approve. Many of the sections of this book are so deep and "mind-blowing that I have to read them more than once. This is a beautiful and challenging book!"; "This book is make you feel like an ocean breeze in a noisy city."; "All I can say is that this is the best Rumi poetry book I've ever read. The ending was a whole section of Rumi's masnavi and it was so beautiful to see the entire philosophy of Rumi on display in such clear words. Wow!"