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The Pocket Rumi
A collection of the best of Rumi's poetry.
The cry of the soul in love with God has never been more eloquently expressed than by the great Persian Sufi master Jalaluddin Rumi (1207-1273). Readers have thrilled to his ecstatic songs of divine union for more than eight hundred years. Now, here is the collection of the best of Rumi's poetry reissued as part of a new series with Pema Chodron, Thich Nhat Hanh, H.H. the Dalai Lama, and more.
The Shambhala Pocket Library is a collection of short, portable teachings from notable figures across religious traditions and classic texts. The covers in this series are rendered by Colorado artist Robert Spellman. The books in this collection distill the wisdom and heart of the work Shambhala Publications has published over 50 years into a compact format that is collectible, reader-friendly, and applicable to everyday life.
The cry of the soul in love with God has never been more eloquently expressed than by the great Persian Sufi master Jalaluddin Rumi (1207-1273). Readers have thrilled to his ecstatic songs of divine union for more than eight hundred years. Now, here is the collection of the best of Rumi's poetry reissued as part of a new series with Pema Chodron, Thich Nhat Hanh, H.H. the Dalai Lama, and more.
The Shambhala Pocket Library is a collection of short, portable teachings from notable figures across religious traditions and classic texts. The covers in this series are rendered by Colorado artist Robert Spellman. The books in this collection distill the wisdom and heart of the work Shambhala Publications has published over 50 years into a compact format that is collectible, reader-friendly, and applicable to everyday life.
224 pages, Paperback
First published February 13, 2001
136 people are currently reading
791 people want to read
About the author
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi
1,170 books15.7k 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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June 26, 2025
4.5*
Persian Sufi mystic and poet (1207-1273).
This lovely inspirational selection saw me marking many passages.
Here are a very few:
from Ramadan:
“Let nothing be inside you.
Be empty: give your lips to the lips of the reed.
When like a reed you fill with His breath,
then you’ll taste sweetness.
Sweetness is in the Breath
that fills the reed.
Be like Mary-by that sweet breath
a child grew within her.”
Woman Is A Ray Of God:
“Muhammad said,
‘Woman prevails over the wise and intelligent;
while the ignorant dominate over her’.
They lack tenderness and affection
because their animality prevails.
Love and gentleness are human qualities;
aggressiveness and lust are bestial.
Woman is a ray of God.
She is not that earthly beloved.
You could say:
she is creative, not created.”
The Thief Will Enter:
“No matter what plans you make,
no matter what you acquire,
the thief will enter from the unguarded side.
Be occupied, then, with what you really value
and let the thief take something less”.
Why Be Cruel To Yourself:
Your grace is the shepherd of all
who have been created,
guarding them from the wolf of pain-
a loving shepherd like God’s pen, Moses.
A single sheep fled from him: Moses wore out his
shoes
and his fleet blistered as he followed after it.
He continued searching until night fell;
meanwhile the flock had vanished from sight.
The lost sheep was weak and exhausted;
Moses shook the dust from it
and stroked its back and head with his hand,
fondling it lovingly like a mother.
Not a bit of irritation and anger,
nothing but love and pity and tears!
He said to the sheep, ‘I can understand
that you naturally had no pity on me,
but why did your nature show such cruelty to itself?’
At that moment God said to the angels,
‘This human being is suitable to be a prophet’.
Persian Sufi mystic and poet (1207-1273).
This lovely inspirational selection saw me marking many passages.
Here are a very few:
from Ramadan:
“Let nothing be inside you.
Be empty: give your lips to the lips of the reed.
When like a reed you fill with His breath,
then you’ll taste sweetness.
Sweetness is in the Breath
that fills the reed.
Be like Mary-by that sweet breath
a child grew within her.”
Woman Is A Ray Of God:
“Muhammad said,
‘Woman prevails over the wise and intelligent;
while the ignorant dominate over her’.
They lack tenderness and affection
because their animality prevails.
Love and gentleness are human qualities;
aggressiveness and lust are bestial.
Woman is a ray of God.
She is not that earthly beloved.
You could say:
she is creative, not created.”
The Thief Will Enter:
“No matter what plans you make,
no matter what you acquire,
the thief will enter from the unguarded side.
Be occupied, then, with what you really value
and let the thief take something less”.
Why Be Cruel To Yourself:
Your grace is the shepherd of all
who have been created,
guarding them from the wolf of pain-
a loving shepherd like God’s pen, Moses.
A single sheep fled from him: Moses wore out his
shoes
and his fleet blistered as he followed after it.
He continued searching until night fell;
meanwhile the flock had vanished from sight.
The lost sheep was weak and exhausted;
Moses shook the dust from it
and stroked its back and head with his hand,
fondling it lovingly like a mother.
Not a bit of irritation and anger,
nothing but love and pity and tears!
He said to the sheep, ‘I can understand
that you naturally had no pity on me,
but why did your nature show such cruelty to itself?’
At that moment God said to the angels,
‘This human being is suitable to be a prophet’.
January 20, 2013
I keep this book by my bed, and I make sure that I have it everywhere I go. When you read this book (in fact when you read any book for Rumi) you will notice three things;
First: this is not the kind of book that you can get through in one night and you’re done with it, as actually when reading it you will be forced to slowly read it, observe it and feel it. You will learn to take a sip at a time of the enlightenment doses it offers.
Second: once you finish it ,you will read it over and over again and every time you will learn something new about the true meaning of love; divine love!
The third and most important thing that you will notice about this book -and every Rumi's writings- is that this is definitely amongst the few books that you should read with your heart rather than your eyes!
First: this is not the kind of book that you can get through in one night and you’re done with it, as actually when reading it you will be forced to slowly read it, observe it and feel it. You will learn to take a sip at a time of the enlightenment doses it offers.
Second: once you finish it ,you will read it over and over again and every time you will learn something new about the true meaning of love; divine love!
The third and most important thing that you will notice about this book -and every Rumi's writings- is that this is definitely amongst the few books that you should read with your heart rather than your eyes!
March 31, 2021
wow. WOW. I NEVER knew poetry could be like this. Last year, I had concluded from the number of poetry books I had read that poetry simply wasn’t for me. I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I thought poetry was boring because they just couldn’t stay with me. hence, I thought it’s because I had a closer connection to books that are filled with more words & pages. but wow, this book has completely changed the way I view poetry. I knew the existence of Rumi & I even read about his life but I never actually got the chance to read any of his works. However, now I completely understand why he’s loved because his words carry so much weight to them. The main reason why I love his poetry is that it reminds me of Allah SWT & how our life is a never-ending quest of seeking Divine Love.
August 31, 2024
3.5⭐️ i liked a lot of poems but, to me, this is tangible evidence that poetry books can’t be more than 150 pages, around that page mark i was dead tired of rumi😞💔 had to take a few days rest from him so i could finish with him in a good light✊
June 15, 2021
"The faithful bow willingly, intending the pleasure of God. The unfaithful worships God, unwillingly, [even while] intending some other desire."
With nearly every reputable scholar saying that Rumi's work is lost in translation and unable to be truly appreciated in English, here I am, reading Rumi, feeling as if I'm gaining quite a bit from it. While I'm currently in a period of a lot of contemplation and quiet time, the deeply metaphorical language about the Divine has been speaking volumes.
Plus it's really cute and tiny and easy to bring around with me to read in nice places.
With nearly every reputable scholar saying that Rumi's work is lost in translation and unable to be truly appreciated in English, here I am, reading Rumi, feeling as if I'm gaining quite a bit from it. While I'm currently in a period of a lot of contemplation and quiet time, the deeply metaphorical language about the Divine has been speaking volumes.
Plus it's really cute and tiny and easy to bring around with me to read in nice places.
November 28, 2015
I have had this lovely little book for years. Rumi, like most Middle Eastern writers, is incredibly quotable and applicable even centuries later. He was incredibly wise and imparted his wisdom into simple, yet profound stanzas. Like Gibran, I don't particularly agree with everything he says, but most of it is just undeniably universal, and so beautifully written.
February 22, 2014
Kabir Helmimski is for me the best translator of Rumi. He really feels him. I carry this little book in my handbag, always on the ready to read it when I have a moment. Waiting at the doctor, at the has station, anywhere I have to wait.
December 11, 2021
I didn't really connect to this book. I carried it around in my pocket a whole lot, and read it during lots of subway rides, but reading it didn't seem to mean much more to me than I would get as a baseline from the pure act of reading.
The book is divided into three main parts: "Rubaiyat", "Ghazels" and "Selections from the Mathnawi". This final part was both the longest and my least favorite. Many of the selections seemed to share with the Buddhist Dhammapada (which I've read in Gil Fronsdal's translation) talk of spiritual virtue, and the lack thereof, without going into details about what those things would look like in practice. I found the prescriptions of Rumi the legal scholar to butt up awkwardly against the metaphors of Rumi the poet.
I wonder if I actually missed Coleman Barks' poetic voice when reading these translations of Rumi. I was first exposed to Rumi in Barks' versions, which now I know have been de-Islamified for Western audiences in favor of a more universal-seeming spirituality; although Rumi's own universalizing tendencies are still present here, I actually seem to find them vaguer and harder to connect to. In any event, I'm still pretty intrigued by Jawid Mojaddedi's heroic-couplets translation of the Mathnawi (which has had only four of its six books completed so far), even if that's even further removed from the Barks versions!
The book is divided into three main parts: "Rubaiyat", "Ghazels" and "Selections from the Mathnawi". This final part was both the longest and my least favorite. Many of the selections seemed to share with the Buddhist Dhammapada (which I've read in Gil Fronsdal's translation) talk of spiritual virtue, and the lack thereof, without going into details about what those things would look like in practice. I found the prescriptions of Rumi the legal scholar to butt up awkwardly against the metaphors of Rumi the poet.
I wonder if I actually missed Coleman Barks' poetic voice when reading these translations of Rumi. I was first exposed to Rumi in Barks' versions, which now I know have been de-Islamified for Western audiences in favor of a more universal-seeming spirituality; although Rumi's own universalizing tendencies are still present here, I actually seem to find them vaguer and harder to connect to. In any event, I'm still pretty intrigued by Jawid Mojaddedi's heroic-couplets translation of the Mathnawi (which has had only four of its six books completed so far), even if that's even further removed from the Barks versions!
December 31, 2023
The beautiful poetry of Rumi on full display. Highly recommended!
April 30, 2024
sometimes too much god but beautiful nonetheless
September 18, 2018
I really am quite fond of Rumi in general, so when I wanted a quick dose of inspiraton I turned to this pocket edition. I found it mildly disappointing. There are a variety of poems from a variety of sources, but very little of the ecstatic love poetry that I was hoping for. Instead, this edition provides a cross section of Rumi's narrative poetry and seems to be carefully edited to include majorly straight (male-female) imagery instead of anything more 'edgy'. It's Rumi, but it's play-it-safe Rumi. Recommended, but really depending on what you're looking for.
January 10, 2019
Will make you believe in Allah. My new favorite poet! Rumi has a command over language, depth and subtlety. I was moved to tears several times like few other poets have done for me. This is book is music to my soul. I can't recommend it enough for those that enjoy mysticism, poetry and meditative writing.
December 17, 2014
It doesn't seem to matter what page you open to, there is something for you. It's calming and grounding. I am keeping this little book on my desk at work to open and enjoy when I need a 5 minute reflection.
August 3, 2007
One of a few great translations.
October 22, 2007
Always keep this little copy in my truck! Love it!
Read
February 1, 2008reading...
October 26, 2010
Excellent translation and editing. Great collection covering an array of Rumi's subjects.
December 23, 2010
Maybe something was lost in translation from Farsi, or maybe I still just don't get most poetry, but I didn't find 'Rumi' interesting at all.
December 1, 2012
Out of this world!
March 31, 2013
Rumi as usual ;)
October 6, 2020
It's continually irritating: the presumption of a transcendent god, the imprecise spirituality, the false paradoxes of any self-promoting religious literature to make out its lies are truth. There are glitterings of poetry. The hashishins are the assassins 'who come in the night', unenlightened. I do like 'the thief among us ...saying, "Yeah, where's the thief?" but 'everything is nothing but God'? Get a grip!
'You're so obvious you're hidden from sight,' a common experience when you're looking for something except what he's not seeing is his Beloved, God obviously. 'Who are you and what do you want?' elicited a laugh, whereas at 'your angelic nature will unfold in a world beyond this world', "Balls!" was emitted. 'Just as children embrace in fantasy intercourse,' that's not always fantasy, 'this world is just play'.
‘The body is the riverbed, and spirit, the rolling water’ is a not bad metaphor for the spirit informing the mind while the body can go its own way but listens in, as encapsulated in ‘the book’ after Johnny’s been hit on the head crossing the burn. ‘People are tearing out their wings for the sake of an illusion’, sex, when they should keep them for what for him is not an illusion but a spiritual reality, paradise. ‘When someone beats a rug, the blows are not against the rug, but against the dust in it’ is good, as is ‘if he answers back, the pearl of inner experience might fall out of his mouth.’ ‘Deliver me from this imprisonment of freewill,’ as Andrew who chose evil also said in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Rumi doesn’t recognise sex as the most common spiritual activity; ‘to follow one’s own desires is... to spill the blood of spirituality,’ much like Shakespeare’s ‘expense of spirit in a waste of shame,’ with the pun on ‘waste’, to avoid procreation. Out of Control is really interesting because he knows consciousness isn’t in control yet wonders why its conceit it is persists. He can’t realise his unconscious he does knows exists. Neither could Iris Murdoch who said it did most of the work. Just as Betty Clark projected her inner man onto her husband, so Rumi projects his unconscious out and calls it god, his filtering consciousness fitting it to the dogma of his belief. In the Tale of the Bedouin his wife inveighs against their poverty, ‘if any guest ever arrived here, I swear I’d go for his tattered coat in the middle of the night.’ As the guest reader I’m on her side, ‘You hypocrite. I’ve had enough of your pretension and nonsense. Your pompous words are unfortunately accompanied by your actions.’ I had to laugh at the idea that ‘God has arranged that the beauty of woman is decked out for man.’ It’s God’s fault man for all he seems to dominate is inwardly dominated. In reason’s brain ‘is nothing but the love of God.’ Really? Doris Lessing recommended Sufism to me, and Rumi is its poetic exponent. Irritation after all is a legitimate aesthetic effect. I’ll leave the last word to Rumi, ‘the jug is only improved by being shattered: every piece of it dances in ecstasy, though to the limited mind this sounds absurd.’
'You're so obvious you're hidden from sight,' a common experience when you're looking for something except what he's not seeing is his Beloved, God obviously. 'Who are you and what do you want?' elicited a laugh, whereas at 'your angelic nature will unfold in a world beyond this world', "Balls!" was emitted. 'Just as children embrace in fantasy intercourse,' that's not always fantasy, 'this world is just play'.
‘The body is the riverbed, and spirit, the rolling water’ is a not bad metaphor for the spirit informing the mind while the body can go its own way but listens in, as encapsulated in ‘the book’ after Johnny’s been hit on the head crossing the burn. ‘People are tearing out their wings for the sake of an illusion’, sex, when they should keep them for what for him is not an illusion but a spiritual reality, paradise. ‘When someone beats a rug, the blows are not against the rug, but against the dust in it’ is good, as is ‘if he answers back, the pearl of inner experience might fall out of his mouth.’ ‘Deliver me from this imprisonment of freewill,’ as Andrew who chose evil also said in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Rumi doesn’t recognise sex as the most common spiritual activity; ‘to follow one’s own desires is... to spill the blood of spirituality,’ much like Shakespeare’s ‘expense of spirit in a waste of shame,’ with the pun on ‘waste’, to avoid procreation. Out of Control is really interesting because he knows consciousness isn’t in control yet wonders why its conceit it is persists. He can’t realise his unconscious he does knows exists. Neither could Iris Murdoch who said it did most of the work. Just as Betty Clark projected her inner man onto her husband, so Rumi projects his unconscious out and calls it god, his filtering consciousness fitting it to the dogma of his belief. In the Tale of the Bedouin his wife inveighs against their poverty, ‘if any guest ever arrived here, I swear I’d go for his tattered coat in the middle of the night.’ As the guest reader I’m on her side, ‘You hypocrite. I’ve had enough of your pretension and nonsense. Your pompous words are unfortunately accompanied by your actions.’ I had to laugh at the idea that ‘God has arranged that the beauty of woman is decked out for man.’ It’s God’s fault man for all he seems to dominate is inwardly dominated. In reason’s brain ‘is nothing but the love of God.’ Really? Doris Lessing recommended Sufism to me, and Rumi is its poetic exponent. Irritation after all is a legitimate aesthetic effect. I’ll leave the last word to Rumi, ‘the jug is only improved by being shattered: every piece of it dances in ecstasy, though to the limited mind this sounds absurd.’
October 23, 2019
A first little foray into the writings of Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī, aka Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Balkhī, aka Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi, aka Rumi, the 13th century Persian poet. I can't speak for the strength of translation, but this volume presents what would appear to be an excellent introduction to his work. Rumi was a Sufi - that is, an adherent to the mystical stream of Islam.
A few, somewhat random (though inevitably Christo-centric) observations from this Christian reader:
- His work displays a number of the same desires and explorations that are found in Christian mysticism. Perhaps evidence of the fact that when a person (any of us) truly seeks God they will find something of God (we can all of us only ever find something of God - never the entirety) regardless of the dogmatics of their religion and culture. Should we be surprised?
- Like Christian mysticism (and theology) of the 13th century (and backwards and forwards of that period) there appears to be a classic dualistic separation between body and soul... pointing to the wide ranging influence of Platonism...?
- Jesus makes a number of appearances - a fact that is surprising to me probably only due to my ignorance about Islamic thought.
I confess that I harbour a desire to appropriate this poem (a 'rubaʿi' in technical Persian-poetical terms) for Christian ends:
---
I dreamed of the most exquisite Cupbearer,
a glass of red elixir in hand,
perfect in servanthood.
Could this be our real master?
---
But I'll try to respectfully and humbly restrain myself...
A few, somewhat random (though inevitably Christo-centric) observations from this Christian reader:
- His work displays a number of the same desires and explorations that are found in Christian mysticism. Perhaps evidence of the fact that when a person (any of us) truly seeks God they will find something of God (we can all of us only ever find something of God - never the entirety) regardless of the dogmatics of their religion and culture. Should we be surprised?
- Like Christian mysticism (and theology) of the 13th century (and backwards and forwards of that period) there appears to be a classic dualistic separation between body and soul... pointing to the wide ranging influence of Platonism...?
- Jesus makes a number of appearances - a fact that is surprising to me probably only due to my ignorance about Islamic thought.
I confess that I harbour a desire to appropriate this poem (a 'rubaʿi' in technical Persian-poetical terms) for Christian ends:
---
I dreamed of the most exquisite Cupbearer,
a glass of red elixir in hand,
perfect in servanthood.
Could this be our real master?
---
But I'll try to respectfully and humbly restrain myself...
June 12, 2025
This is a selection of writings (mostly poetry) of Rumi (formal name: Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī.) Rumi was a mystic of Sufi Islam, and so the poems tend toward the devotional -- though with more reference to the experience of intoxication than one might expect from a 13th century Islamic poet.
This selection consists of three sections organized by poetic form, each section progressively longer than the preceding one. The first section is ruba'i, the second is ghazals, and the last is from Rumi's Mathnawi.
The "Pocket" of the book's title and series is figurative as the paperback is too big of both format and thickness for any pocket I own, personally, but the point is that it's a quick read at only about 200 pages of (mostly) poetry [meaning white space abounds.]
I enjoyed reading this selection. I can't say how true to message the translations are as I have no knowledge of Persian. I can point out that the translators opted to abandon form in favor of free verse. Hopefully, this gave them the freedom of movement to approach the message and tone of the originals.
If you are interested in a short, readable English translation of Rumi's poetry, this book offers a fine place to start.
This selection consists of three sections organized by poetic form, each section progressively longer than the preceding one. The first section is ruba'i, the second is ghazals, and the last is from Rumi's Mathnawi.
The "Pocket" of the book's title and series is figurative as the paperback is too big of both format and thickness for any pocket I own, personally, but the point is that it's a quick read at only about 200 pages of (mostly) poetry [meaning white space abounds.]
I enjoyed reading this selection. I can't say how true to message the translations are as I have no knowledge of Persian. I can point out that the translators opted to abandon form in favor of free verse. Hopefully, this gave them the freedom of movement to approach the message and tone of the originals.
If you are interested in a short, readable English translation of Rumi's poetry, this book offers a fine place to start.
June 8, 2025
Reading Rumi always feels like floating—like being gently lulled into glimpses of heaven, only to be drawn back down to earth again.
While this book didn’t evoke the same sense of transcendence I experienced with The Masnavi series (Jawid Mojaddedi), I still found myself immersed in Rumi’s thoughts and iman. It offered a meaningful space to reflect on my own understanding of transcendent love.
I’ve read Rumi through various translators, and each brings a different flavor. Mojaddedi’s work remains a personal favorite for the depth and rhymes, but Helminski’s approach stands on its own. His translation is straightforward and seems designed with modern readers in mind—stripped of the romanticism we often see in Coleman Barks’ versions (which, honestly, kinda too much lol).
Don’t expect rhyming lines or flowery language here. What you get instead is a quiet, grounded Rumi—one who still points upward, but speaks in simpler tones.
While this book didn’t evoke the same sense of transcendence I experienced with The Masnavi series (Jawid Mojaddedi), I still found myself immersed in Rumi’s thoughts and iman. It offered a meaningful space to reflect on my own understanding of transcendent love.
I’ve read Rumi through various translators, and each brings a different flavor. Mojaddedi’s work remains a personal favorite for the depth and rhymes, but Helminski’s approach stands on its own. His translation is straightforward and seems designed with modern readers in mind—stripped of the romanticism we often see in Coleman Barks’ versions (which, honestly, kinda too much lol).
Don’t expect rhyming lines or flowery language here. What you get instead is a quiet, grounded Rumi—one who still points upward, but speaks in simpler tones.
March 9, 2021
Obviously, this is not a pick-up and read cover to cover book. I have to say that because many pick up this book, myself included, looking for all the great coined sayings he is known for and they are not readily apparent... Though I do love Rumi's poetry, I found myself oddly disappointed to have to sift through a body of works that I, at least, did not find as inspiring or worthwhile.
Greatness happens in sparks.
This is a book that you read in small amounts and marinate what you've read letting its truth seep down into the folds of your brain and digest. (yes, I'll be keeping it in my library of books despite my not "glammed up and glowing" review.)
Greatness happens in sparks.
This is a book that you read in small amounts and marinate what you've read letting its truth seep down into the folds of your brain and digest. (yes, I'll be keeping it in my library of books despite my not "glammed up and glowing" review.)
January 7, 2018
I want to read more poetry this year so I started with this book of Rumi’s poems and unfortunately it’s not my favorite. I need poetry to speak to me and this didn’t, even tho the poems themselves are beautiful.
January 8, 2022
A brimming jug of wisdom. I felt quite difficult to read it fast, it took a lot of time for me because the content is so solid, it really takes a lot of time to process, I could only read 4 at the most 5 poetries a day. Excellent translation, it did quite quench my Rumi thirst, if I may.
February 27, 2023
My mother adores and cherishes Rumi's work, and convinced me to read this one. Despite the religious side of his work, I thought this book was beautifully written and it had my full attention. His description of love and life is unique.
November 19, 2019
Beautiful collection of poetry. I can’t wait to read more than just this pocket version of his work.
May 28, 2020
Poetry of the soul and refreshingly funny.
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