Rumi: Unseen Poems; Edited and Translated by Brad Gooch and Maryam Mortaz

by Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi, Brad Gooch (Editor), Maryam Mortaz (Editor)

A beautiful collector’s hardcover of never-before-translated poems by the widely beloved medieval Persian poet Rumi. AN EVERYMAN'S LIBRARY POCKET POET

Rumi (1207-1273) was trained in Sufism—a mystic tradition within Islam—and founded the Sufi order known to us as the Whirling Dervishes, who use dance and music as part of their spiritual devotion. Rumi's poetry has long been popular with contemporary Western audiences because of the way it combines the sacred and the sensual, describing divine love in rapturously human terms.

However, a number of Rumi's English translators over the past century were not speakers of Persian and they based their sometimes very free interpretations on earlier translations. With Western audiences in mind, translators also tended to tone down or leave out elements of Persian culture and of Islam in Rumi's work, and hundreds of the prolific poet's works were never made available to English speakers at all.

In this new translation—composed almost entirely of untranslated gems from Rumi's vast ouevre—Brad Gooch and Maryam Mortaz aim to achieve greater fidelity to the originals while still allowing Rumi's lyric exuberance to shine."

Everyman's Library pursues the highest production standards, printing on acid-free cream-colored paper, with full-cloth cases with two-color foil stamping, decorative endpapers, silk ribbon markers, European-style half-round spines, and a full-color illustrated jacket.

Genres: Poetry, Classics

224 pages, Hardcover

Published September 10, 2019

About the author

Sufism 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.

Reviews

[Jennifer nyc · Rating 2 out of 5]

I normally love Rumi, but I think there was a reason these poems were previously unseen.

[Tahoora Hashmi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started reading this book a few days ago which is a collection of around 220 unseen poems by Maulana Jalāl ud-Dīn Muhammad Balkhi aka Rumi, the old Persian poet that came in the limelight in early 2000's after his works were bought into the western world. His poems are not contemporary types that end after hitting enter after every 5 words🙃 safe to say it took a while to read this
🔸
I had heard that his poems are mostly dedicated to God, which they are a lot of times but then again I couldn't help but acknowledge the big deal of poems dedicated to his ustadh Shams-i-Tabrīzī or Shams al-Din. I mean who writes about their master SO damn much? Craved his presence SO much? Is all gaga over them? And given that their interacting sessions were kept highly private I couldn't help but wonder.
Soooo....I have been doing some digging. To quote directly from an expert on the topic:
🔸
"Here are some nitty-gritty facts about these two. Shams drank, Rumi did not. Their companionship, although short lived, was about transmission of power and high secret knowledge and it was never physical. Think about it, why else would Rumi offer him a wife if they were physically involved? Shams' powers grew while he was with Rumi. Rumi saw mysterious he never thought possible.
I would tell you about their experiences but they are so magnificent and so far removed from our reality that they would fall into the zone of Sci-Fi.[tahoora: how cool is that😭]However, their meetings were not just about discourse, they were experiential. Meaning Shams was able to bestow direct experiences to Rumi, rather than just discussing them in theory. These direct experiences also included manifestation of imagery and beings from other times and dimensions. I'll keep the more juicy details for my talks and workshops."
BEING ALWAYS MOVED BY SUPER POWERS SINCE CHILDHOOD I REALLY WANT TO ATTEND THIS PERSONS WORKSHOPS SO BAD NOW. it's either going to be mind blowing or super creepy🙃
.
Coming back to the book, the book is super tiring at one given time when you are halfway through it since most of the poems are about his ustadh only. Not going to lie, the poetry in them is super super amazing but the repetition of the subject was done so many times i eventually lost interest in the book and left it at 60% I guess there was a reason these poems were unseen, very few people would like this kind of repetition. I feel if before every poem there was a context to the story behind it, it would've been better. however, i had to do that extra work and it got tiring after a while. I am looking forward to read another renowned Rumi's work tho and i'm hoping it changes my mind about Rumi.

[Meredith is a hot mess · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent translation of Rumi. It's gorgeous, rich, and inspirational. Brad Gooch, Maryam Mortaz, and everyone who worked on this translation deserve to be commended. I recommend readers to look at the foreword, which includes information about Rumi and how his poems have been translated in the past. It also details the effort that went into this publication. After reading this I'm interested in checking out Brad Gooch's book, Rumi's Secret: The Life of the Sufi Poet of Love.

An excerpt from one my favorite poems:

No interpreter for my fire

No interpreter for my fire.
No language for the secrets of my heart.
No sighs to express my pain.
No souls to share my sighs.
No pearl rising from the sea.
No calm sea, not even for a moment.
No words giving birth to meaning.
No words clearly spoken.
Language is a stream of meaning.
How can the sea ever pass through a stream?
In the world of souls,every soul is a world.
No word can ever contain the world

Favorite poems from this book:

Where is the grace I saw in your face all night?
Once again my heart is catching fire
The rays of his sunlight are spreading farther
To see your face in the early morning is my life
I cure my pain with suffering
Even if I lose my sight and mind and life, don't go
Love lured me into the alley of the tavern
Send me your soul's wine as a token of your love
Since I am a servant of the sun, I speak of the sun
If you can't find me, ask the dark night
You are a moon that in the sky cannot be held
The angelic face is the zenith of both worlds
From my heart arose the army of the soul
Each day, full of joy, seek a new place to live

*ARC received from Netgalley

[aqilahreads · Rating 2 out of 5]

there are so many rumi’s books out there but this is just one of them that doesnt really resonates with me well. i came across a comment saying there might be a reason that these poems were previously unseen HAHAHAHA but i have to agree!! :')

reading this felt like i was reading the same thing again & again which eventually made me lost interest to read further (but still managed to finish). i felt that some of his poems in this collection are targeted to certain people, hence, not everyone would be able to understand, resulting to doing a further research.

i do recommend his other books! the ones that i enjoyed are the purity of desire and the rumi daybook if you would like to explore more on rumi’s works.

[Tomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an electronic ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for honest review.

I absolutely adore RUMI. I can go as far back as high school and coming across his Big Red Book collection, and was hooked that point on.

The book is well written, taking the reader on a beautiful journey.

RUMI will forever live, so long as Poetry exists.

Available everywhere Sept 10th, 2019

[Ivana · Rating 4 out of 5]

These poems by Rumi are incredible. They are in fact much more than poems, they are feelings. I enjoyed them very much.
I will not be writing a larger/more in depth review since I don't feel the need to nor do I find myself competent to do so.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grew up in Istanbul, Turkey. In middle school, I read several of Rumi's poems. But at the time, it was annoying school work written in old Ottoman Turkish that was hard to decipher. Years after I moved to the United States, I rediscovered Rumi, this time in English.

His poems enchanted my soul.

So when I heard of this new book, I knew I wanted to read more Rumi. And this book doesn't disappoint. There is a wide range of poems here, some very similar to what's been translated before, and some closer to what I studied at school and some that are different than both.

Here are a few clippings from some of his poems that I loved:

My face is a hundred times brighter when I see your face.
My soul is a hundred times happier when your soul is near.
When the mirror of my life is polished by your love,
The mirror of the world is no longer dull and dark....

Look into the face of the beloved until his hues come alive.
As the hues reflect in your face, O pale one, come alive!
Every atom is whirling until they feel alive.
You, atom, don't you wish to come alive?
You were like a stone. Touched by his life,
Sweet running steams from stones come alive.
In the mirror, I looked into a vision of transcendence.
I asked, "Who are you?"
He said, "I am light come alive."

You are at peace when you don't need more or less,
When you don't need to be a king or a saint,
When you're free from the sorrows of the world,
When you're free from the tiniest atom of yourself.

I can go on and on. If you're a fan of Rumi, this book will not disappoint.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in return for an honest review.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always loved to read Rumi and this collection of newly translated works was fantastic! Readers should not skip the forward in this book as it explains how this book came to be along with other information. I will be going back and reading this little gem to savor the words once more.

[Ann Stark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully translated. Rumi definitely touches your soul.

[Amany · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first Rumi book. Greatly captivated by all the sweet poems while also greatly torn by the painful ones. The paper quality & the book size were an absolute delight for my eyes & hands.

[Aria Summers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rumi is one of my favourite poets. His words are deep and inspirational. This book did not disappoint and only showed even deeper layers to his insight into the human condition. This is a beautiful collection and a must have for any Rumi fan. The only reason for 4 stars because it could have been indexed a little better. If you're looking for new Rumi inspiration, look no further.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Jenny Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume was translated from Persian, or Farsi, the only one I have yet found that was. These are very similar to Rumi's other poems, and lots are dedicated to Shams.
An interesting look into Rumi's poems, and I like that the repetition of lines was kept in several poems rather than being translated out. This is another set that shows its religious roots quite well.

Check out my YouTube channel for bookish videos and monthly wrap ups!

[Bookoholiccafe · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The earth receives light from your moon, Like a thousand planets and suns shining in the firmament.”
I have read his poems in Farsi and this translation is wonderful. Looking at the world through Rumi’s eyes is amazing his poetry is timeless.
I strongly believe that every one should read this book at least once.

Many Thanks to Netgalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for the Arc.

[Vincent DiGirolamo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone wishes to sell their words.
I am the servant of the one who knows silence.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unseen Poems offers a unique window into the soul of one of the world's most beloved poets. This collection, edited and translated by Brad Gooch and Maryam Mortaz, presents previously untranslated works that provide a deeper understanding of Rumi's mystical philosophy and his exploration of love, spirituality, and the divine.

Rumi's poetry is renowned for its exploration of love, both divine and human. In these unseen poems, this theme remains central. Love is presented as a transformative force, capable of uniting individuals with the divine and with each other. Rumi often uses metaphors of wine and drunkenness to symbolize the intoxicating nature of love.

A recurring motif in Rumi's work is the quest for mystical union with the divine. In these poems, he delves into the nature of this union, often using paradoxical language to convey the ineffable experience. Rumi suggests that true understanding comes not from intellectual comprehension but from a direct experience of the divine.

Rumi's poetry often reflects on the transient nature of life and the importance of living in the present moment. He emphasizes the fleeting beauty of existence and the need to appreciate it fully. In Rumi's poetry, the "Beloved" often serves as a symbol of the divine. The poet's love for the Beloved is a metaphor for his spiritual longing and his quest for union with God.

As these poems were previously untranslated, they offer a fresh perspective on Rumi's work. They reveal new facets of his thought and provide a deeper understanding of his poetic vision. Some of the poems in this collection exhibit a raw emotional intensity that is not always evident in his more well-known works. This emotional depth adds a layer of complexity to Rumi's poetic persona.

Despite being previously unseen, these poems align with the central themes and motifs that characterize Rumi's poetry. This consistency reinforces the enduring nature of his message. In conclusion, Rumi's Unseen Poems offer a valuable contribution to our understanding of one of the greatest poets of all time. By exploring themes of love, mysticism, and the ephemeral nature of existence, these poems provide a glimpse into the depths of Rumi's spiritual journey and his enduring message of love and unity.

[Joseph Spuckler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Out of love for you, every strand of my hair turned into lines of poetry
~Rumi



Rumi: Unseen Poems translated by Brad Gooch and Maryam Mortaz is a modern and more accurate translation of the thirteenth-century Persian mystic. Many previous collections relied on old translations and translations that appealed more directly to the Western reader. This collection preserves the Islamic side of the poet. The moon plays a central role in the religion and the poetry of Rumi. There are poems where the moon is jealous of one's beauty, the splitting of the moon, and a rooftop observation signaling the beginning of Ramadan.

Didn't I tell you last night, "Your beautiful face is beyond compare."
The moon jealous of your beauty was torn in two

Wine, drinking, and drunkenness are repeated throughout the collection as a metaphor. Alcohol is to be avoided because of the way it influences people and their sensibility. Matching the strength of alcohol is love. Rumi compares the feeling of love to that of wine, something that lifts one well above the tediousness of the day. It is a powerful feeling.

My face is a hundred times brighter when I see your face.
My soul is a hundred times happier when your soul is near.

The direct translation of the original texts gives a definitive view of the poet. His other writing has been embraced, edited, and mistranslated to fit into the Western New Age movements.  Using unpublished poems, the translators attempt to preserve the real Rumi complete with his religious views.  The final result is simply fantastic poetry with an Islamic tone.  The poet, after all, was a life long scholar of Islam and the Koran. 

This collection will be printed in the small easy to carry around Everyman's Library Pocket Poet hardcover bindings that also look well on one's bookshelf. The Pocket Poets series runs nearly 120 different collections of poetry organized by poet or subject.



Available September 10, 2019

[Nazrul Buang · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars.

It's something I picked up on a whim, and Rumi's one of the figures whose works I've been meaning to read up.

Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī, also more widely known as Rumi. A 13th-century Persian poet known for his works centering around love, and his mysticism that the art of Sufism. His works has not only contributed to Persian literature, but also influenced several languages, and interestingly he's been regarded as the most popular poet in the United States. This book is a collection of some of his unseen poems, and authors Maryam Mortaz and Brad Gooch attempt to share them with the readers and the world.

I first learned about Rumi during my trip to Iran two years ago. Something about his works touched me; perhaps it's how all his poems centers around love and peace, with a dose of unconventional wisdom. It reminds me of the novel 'The Alchemist', where there's something magical about his quotes and understanding of the world, and I've been curious to know about him ever since.

The issue is, I personally can't appreciate poetry. I really try to, but to no avail (so far). Rumi's poems opens horizons but for someone with pathetic understanding in poetry and abstract thought, it's hard for me to grasp his ideas. I appreciate authors Mortaz and Gooch's extensive work in translating Rumi's work, finely balancing between fidelity to the original meaning and imaginative interpretation. But as much as I try to comprehend the poems, a handful just flies above my head.

I went into this book hoping to appreciate Rumi's timeless works, but my lack of appreciation for poetry's abstractness made it difficult to do so. Hence, the bulk of Rumi's unseen poems here just didn't click with me. Personally, for someone who doesn't understand poetry, I wish the book had enclosed captions to interpret his poems, and not just faithfully translating them without context. That being said, I will continue to find books on Rumi that I can appreciate. This just isn't one of them. Cool cover design, at least.

[Dolors · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s incredibly challenging to define Rumi’s verses. His famous lyric ghazals, similar to sonnets in length and impact, go beyond poetry or any other artistic expression. They raise up to an unusual blend of undiluted spirituality, mystical philosophy and scholarly theology.

Widely translated and internationally acclaimed, Rumi’s work transcends the barriers of language, culture and even religion. Love is the indisputable protagonist in Rumi’s lyrical meditations, a kind of love that is all-embracing and doesn’t limit itself with categorizations. Rumi loves limitlessly and he loves without ego, he loves everything and everyone at once: nature, people, his ancestors, his mentor and God. And so divine love and personal poems of aching human love fuse effortlessly and his verses become a unique chant to the sacred unity between body and soul, a mystical union with love itself.

Reading Rumi is a formidable experience. His effusive verses inebriated me, such abundance of feeling made my head spin, my heart race. His passion and abundance can even be overwhelming as there is so much wisdom and intensity in Rumi’s stanzas that it’s sometimes challenging to absorb the depth of their meaning.
Rumi is dizzyingly creative, but at the same time he repeats himself, and certain imagery such as stars, moons, nightingales and roses are ever-present in his extensive oeuvre, and so reading his verses in a row might assimilate to a trance experience.

Amidst such an exuberance of lyrical mystery and universal love, what I will most remember of this collection is Rumi’s humble exaltation of the present moment and his capacity to find something to love, something divine in every particle of the universe, even in silences, which express what can’t be articulated in words.

“Rip this poem apart like an old piece of cloth
To set meaning free from words, wind, and air.”

[Michelle Kidwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rumi
Unseen Poems

by Rumi

Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group

Everyman’s Library

Poetry , Religion & Spirituality

Pub Date 10 Sep 2019

I am reviewing a copy of Rumi Unseen Poems
through Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group and Everyman’s Library:

Rumi once said “Love speaks a thousand languages.”

Rumi who lived from 1207-1273 and was trained in Sufism, a mystic tradition within Islam, the Sufi order used dance and music as part of their Spiritual devotion.

Rumi’s poetry has been popular with Contemporary Westerners because of the way it combines the sacred and the sensual, describing divine love in human terms.

This beautiful collection of Rumi’s poems speaks of a deep faith and love the way a modern reader can understand and appreciate.

I give Rumi Unseen Poems five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

[Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rumi is awesome. Ok, ok it's a way overused epithet, but Rumi is the true exemplar of of the old-fashioned OED definition of awesome, "inspiring reverential awe". He's also audacious, naughty, radical, free-as-a-bird, passionate and love-struck, both about this world and the next. He loves people as much as he loves God, and vice versa. Brad Gooch and Marayam Mortaz have properly honoured Rumi's indomitable spirit in this volume, presenting many previously unseen works in vibrant and fresh language. The foreword is quite fascinating and helps us appreciate just how prolific and quirky Rumi was. Here you will find all the depth you expect from a great author, but you will do it in an almost delirious sense of fun.

[Bryan Cayangcang · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I was given an advance reading copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for the opportunity.

I've never read anything from Rumi before, so when I saw that this book was available for request, I immediately hit the request button. Luckily, I was approved!

This book holds beautiful words and messages. I've always heard great things from his works, and reading this made me want to read more of his writings in the future. I know a lot of people will find this relatable and other will connect with these string of words in a level that's unique for each one of them.

Truly incredible and I can't wait for the world to read this.

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first exploration of Rumi’s poetry. He was one among many inspirations of Mary Oliver’s oeuvre, among other nineteenth and twentieth-century American poets. It strikes me that a lot is probably lost in translation from Farsi into English. There are certain words, such as “whirling,” often repeated across numerous poems which I think probably had a different connotation in the original tongue.

A lot of Rumi’s poems possess a line or couplet that offers penetrating insight into some aspect of life. The poems contained here generally speak of love, despair, death, and the power of creative thought. Rumi grappled with emotions that we often find difficult to express and used powerful imagery to convey them. Highly recommended.

[Amity Eagleton · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for my honest review.

This collection of unseen poems from Rumi are quite typical of the rest of their work.

I did enjoy a number of pieces from the collection, unfortunately, the rest of the collection was more or less the same.

I think Rumi's work is the kind of poetry that you dip into and take something from each time, rather than reading it from cover to cover.

I would recommend this to any literary/ history fans out there that have enjoyed reading from Rumi's collections in the past.

This collection covered spiritual themes and while I appreciate the gravity behind the work, it wasn't a new favourite.

[Jade · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book itself is very sweet, petite and with its own bookmark ribbon. The poems that I enjoyed from it I enjoyed very much, many in a recognizable form yet with a natural elaboration. There were a select few I really liked from the abundance of these. What stood out to me were the repeated references to the scent of jasmine and rose and the poet and the recipient’s faces being close like two moons.

[Armenuhy]

Անսովոր հավաքածու է։ Մինչ սա, Ռումի ավելի հեշտ եմ կարդացել։ Սկիզբը ավելի բարդ էր, հետո կարդալուս շունչը սկսեց համընկնել հեղինակի ռիթմի հետ։ Ու մի քիչ ավելի Ռումի նկատեցի։
'Չտեսնված պոեմներ'֊ը հավանեցի։ Սեր կա` տիեզերական։ Կարդալու ընթացքը նաև այդ սերը զգալն էր բարդացնում` խեղդելու ու թռիչքի ուժ ուներ։
Լավ կլիներ բնագրով կարդալ, որովհետև թարգմանության միջամտությունը մի քիչ խանգարում էր։
Գիրքը արժե ունենալ գրապահարանում, ինչպես նաև այս շարքից մյուսները։

[LauSo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was given a digital arc of this book by Netgalley.
I really enjoyed reading this book, some of the poems were very raw and left a strong impression, others not so much, but it always happens in poetry collections. I think the translators did a good job making Rumi's poetry available to others, and I'm thankfull to them for letting me read a copy of the work they did.

[E · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rumi’s adoration for people, the world, and his immense love for Shams Tabriz are truly breathtaking. As I’m attempting to become a more spiritual person, I only wish I could be even half as loving and enlightened as he was. There is something undeniably unconditional about the friendship/relationship between Rumi and Shams Tabriz. Rumi’s perspectives on the world and how he sees the sacredness in everything encourages me to slow down and truly drink in the world and its people, to celebrate love, to exercise the extraordinary power of kindness in my everyday life.

[Maria (marmalade.reads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is so gay. I'm obsessed.

I've always loved Rumi's poems for being so real and so approachable. I'm utterly delighted by this collection. Many of the poems in this collection are love letters Rumi wrote towards his mentor, Shams al-Din of Tabriz, and are filled with such intense longing. I've never seen this side of Rumi's writing before and I'm completely mesmerized.

[Connor McMahon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not so much of a romantic, but Rumi speaks deeply to my feelings of spirituality and the intimacy of communion with God. Astonishing, sensual, romantic poems that leave you entranced. Pleased to have read this collection which translates poems that typically have been overlooked for western audiences, particularly his verses that draw heavily from his Muslim background.

[Lilly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another sublime collection from my favorite poet.
I don't think that any of his writings would ever disappoint me.
Rumi speaks to the human soul in such unmatched eloquence.

Highly recommended read.
Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for a chance to read this beautiful book.