The Rumi Collection: An Anthology of Translations of Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi

by Kabir Helminski (Editor)

Arranged by topic and theme, this introduction to the works of the great mystical poet Rumi features some of the best translations of his verse
 
Rumi’s poems are beloved for their touching perceptions of humanity and the Divine. Here is a rich introduction to the work of the great mystical poet, featuring leading literary translations of his verse. Translators include Coleman Barks, Robert Bly, Andrew Harvey, Kabir Helminski, Camille Helminski, Daniel Liebert, and Peter Lamborn Wilson.
 
To display the major themes of Rumi’s work, each of the eighteen chapters in this anthology are arranged topically, such as “The Inner Work,” “The Ego Animal,” “Passion for God,” “Praise,” and “Purity.” Also contained here is a biography of Rumi by Andrew Harvey, as well as an introductory essay by Kabir Helminski on the art of translating Rumi's work into English.

Genres: Poetry, Philosophy, Spirituality, Classics, Islam, Religion, Mysticism

224 pages, Paperback

First published November 14, 199

About the author

Kabir Helminski is codirector, with his wife, Camille Helminski, of the Threshold Society, a nonprofit organization dedicated to sharing the knowledge and practice of Sufism. He is the author of Living Presence and the translator of four volumes of Rumi's poetry.

Helminski has been named as one of the "500 Most Influential Muslims in the World" by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center.
Helminski is a teacher and advisor with The Spiritual Paths Institute, a group of contemplative teachers from Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Native American, and Hindu traditions offering programs in applied inter-spirituality.

Reviews

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm late discovering Rumi, but if you like mystical poetry, this is your man. The translations are uneven -- some wonderful, some wacky and weird -- but overall the voice of an extraordinary man comes through, a deep soul from the 13th Century who speaks with startling insight into the modern condition. Another way of saying, I suppose, that 8 centuries later we're still struggling with the same ideas and yearnings.

[John-Nathan]

These are my bedtime stories. These poems inspire sweet dreams and are how antidepressants are supposed to work. Even stuff I don't like, I fall in love with:

"The Love of women
is made attractive to men.
God has arranged it: how can they avoid
what God has arranged?
Inasmuch as God created woman
so that Adam might take comfort in her,
how can Adam be parted form Eve?
Woman is a ray of God.
She is not that earthly beloved:
she is creative, not created."

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved most of these poems. There were plenty that I clearly did not have the cultural or religious background to understand. This was a compilation of various translations, and here were certain translators that I did not enjoy at all. I often wonder, reading something that has been both translated and modernized, how much of the original is retained. I am sure I was mostly enjoying Rumi's skill, but I'm also absolutely certain that the skill of the interpreter matters a great deal as well.

[Farah Al-Shuhail · Rating 5 out of 5]

What can possibly be said about Rumi?
My favorite mystic poet and the world's greatest Sufi master!

[Aroub Al-Shalabi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Rumi's peoms but this book was a Literal translation, I mean to say this version of translation is weak and doesn't satisfy the true meaning of what Rumi's peoms are about . When you're planning to read Rumi's peotry look for the best translations not just any .

[Paul Gibson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not one of my favorite books. I was expecting more since a few of my recent favorite quotes have been attributed to Rumi. Unfortunately none were in this collection. Rumi seems to be a fine poet. As a mystic, I suppose I prefer my mystics to be realists rather than idealists or believers.

[Fusun Dulger charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sheikh Kabir eats, sleeps and lives Rumi and you can feel that love and devotion in his translations. A must if you want to "feel" Rumi.

[Mohamed Abdelwahed · Rating 5 out of 5]

An admirer of any work released by Rumi. As I read, I feel things animate around me, a sensational feeling of innocence and purity. Each piece I read, fulfills me with peace. I am full.

[Mysaaa_ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book of poetry as a graduation present, to start anew. This summer, I’ve decided to nourish my soul before (quite literally) beginning the next chapter of my life. Poetry has a funny way of doing just that. Here are a few of my favorites:

“If love were only spiritual,
the practices of fasting and prayer would not exist.
The gifts of lovers to one another are,
in respect to love, nothing but forms;
yet, they testify
to invisible love.”

“Is it possible for the bodily eye to see You?
Can thought comprehend Your laughter or grief?
Tell me now, can it possibly see You at all?
Such a heart had only borrowed things to live with.”
-When a Man and a Woman Become One

“Night cancels the business of day;
inertia recharged the mind.
Then the day cancels the night,
and inertia disappears in the light.
Though we sleep and rest in the dark,
doesn’t the dark contain the water of life?
Be refreshed in the darkness.
Doesn’t a moment of silence
restore beauty to the voice?
Opposites manifest through opposites:
in the black core of the heart
God created the eternal light of love.”

“If It were always summertime,
the blazing heat would burn the garden,
soul and roots, so that nothing would ever grow
again.
December is grim yet kind;
summer is all laughter, and yet it burns.”
-Expansion and Contraction

[Mehwish · Rating 5 out of 5]

I burnt in Rumi's wisdom and love. A profound reading experience!

"You know the value of every article of merchandise,
but if you don't know the value of your own soul,
it's all foolishness.
You've come to know the fortunate and the inauspicious stars,
but you don't know whether you yourself
are fortunate or unlucky.
This, this is the essence of all sciences
that you should know who you will be
when the Day of Reckoning arrives"

"The intellectual is always showing off;
The lover is always getting lost.
The intellectual runs away, afraid of drowning;
the whole business of love is to drown in the sea.
Intellectuals plan their repose;
lovers are ashamed to rest.
The lover is always alone, even surrounded with people;
like water and oil, he remains apart.
The man who goes to the trouble
of giving advice to a lover
gets nothing. He’s mocked by passion.
Love is like musk. It attracts attention.
Love is a tree, and lovers are its shade."

[Yasy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The books that are written by Rumi were originally written in the Persian language. Having translated doesn't give the reader the full understanding and meaning that Rumi is trying to get across. The book is separated in chapters of one topic like love, intellect, life etc. Being of the same religion of him I hear this stuff all the time and it quite frankly gets old. I don't mean to say that what he's written is bad, but sometimes it is hard to really comprehend. It is an okay book his view on life is nice but a little harsh. When I first started reading the poems they were nice but as went on it was the same thing over and over again with different words. Anyways if I had any other choice I would read a poem or two a night.

[Woman Inside Water · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sufism is a word tossed around by Sunnis claiming to have any hold on the subject, but further inquiry reveals they don't consider it to be orthodox, with the celebration in dancing and singing and so on they don't think are halal practices. For them, it is outside the realm of Islam. In actuality, it pre-dated Islam but later merged with it in its own branch. The result, however, is something quite beautiful, and the poems here show this. I might even say the poetry is very sensual.

[Ata A · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shaykh Kabir remains true in his translation and true to meaning. The deeper spiritual and mystical insights, though, need to be explained to novices who first encounter the work. This is a great translation but...

I wish there were some way to express the rhythm that is present in the original tongue of Rumi. Unfortunately, so much is lost in translation, even with masters of Rumi's Path like Shaykh Kabir Helminski translating.

[Nikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book for people who are just starting out reading Rumi because it includes a bunch of different translators, which allows you to pick who your favorite ones are and buy their translations in the future :) Not only that but I think seeing different translators in the same book really makes you aware of how much of what you’re reading is really Rumi coming through and how much of it is the translator.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

the images are fascinating...i've been reading it on the subway and trying not to miss my stop!

[Farheen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Rumi and I try my best to love him too!!
I read most of Rumi's work which is translated in English so far. And this one I found the best of all.

[Selena Stan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Generally speaking I am not a great fan of poetry. Reading this I realized that religious inspirational poetry is definitely not for me.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this poetry collection although it was far more religious than I expected. I got the book via a Goodreads giveaway, and while I knew of Rumi and had seen bits of Rumi's work here and there, I didn't have much knowledge of who the poet was or how much the poet's work was explicitly religious. All that said, despite being secular, I still found much to like in the many translations that comprise this book. For one thing, it's fascinating to see how varied the translations can be from one translator to another. I found Robert Bly's translations particularly appealing while others' translations had vastly different feels. (It'd be fascinating to compare different translations of the exact same poem, but this collection didn't offer that.) From a language standpoint, this collection is good. The religiosity isn't something I'm drawn to, and I imagine that may turn off some readers.

[Faith · Rating 3 out of 5]

As much as I love Rumi and also love Shambhala Publications, this particular compilation did not resonate with me as much as I expected. I think that is partly due to the various styles of interpretations that were used. It seemed like a lot of the interpretations were trying too hard to update the metaphors and similes to be very modern and then others would be so ancient I would have to look up what they meant. I also noticed a lot of the poems talking about Jesus...I don't know much about this but isn't that sort of an attempt to "erase Islam" as this timely New Yorker article calls it? If you happen to know anything about this please feel free to comment. I could use the education on this topic!
http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-t...

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was looking forward to this book, Mary Oliver is one of my favorite authors and a devoted fan of Rumi. And I did respect his writing and love for all Abrahamic, and by further note, all religions, to give it this rating, but I got very tired of reading through this.
Some of these messages practically encourage harm on yourself and others portrayed as worship. I don't understand the devotion to a life beyond this one, that there is no proof of, when heaven is below our footprints. But that is my own fault.

[Cem Yüksel · Rating 3 out of 5]

The collection of poems and the passages from Fihi Ma Fihi based on the headline for each chapter. The challenge is always there to translate a poem , especially the ones with mystic context and full of ecstasy from Rumi. While losing the sound of Persian , having some interpretations creating different meaning is also a challenge.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't read a lot of Rumi so I don't know if this a better translation than other volumes. It's hard to go wrong with Rumi, and I enjoyed collection.

Thanks very much for the free copy for review!!

[amber · Rating 2 out of 5]

i had trouble with this one. no dog-eared pages, no sense of flow. chapters organized thematically resulted in preachy, repetitive rhythm reminiscent of a religious summer camp. i know that rumi is beautiful, so i believe that much has been lost in translation(s) here!

[Mo Durrani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ground breaking stuff. The highest level of spirituality, beyind Taoism and Buddhism.

[Berkalp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful but sometimes a bit lost in translation

[Lyazzat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rumi's collection is untiring book which you read everyday for phylosophy/thinking/ debating or discussing thoughts behind wisdom sayings.

[Lubna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Breathtaking and eye opening

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

When you read Rumi, you are also reading the translator. I liked this collection of poems and these translations. Many gems to discover.

[Mehdi Hassan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The poems are not too long but very deep with meaning. Not something to be read hurriedly but at true lazy leisure so the words may penetrate one's heart.

[Susana Fernandes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful poetry. Favourite poem “Emptiness” on the Purity chapter.