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Drawing on a vast array of sources, from writings of the poet himself to the latest scholarly literature, this new anniversary edition of the award-winning work examines the background, the legacy, and the continuing significance of Jalâl al-Din Rumi, today's bestselling poet in the United States. With new translations of over fifty of Rumi's poems and including never before seen prose, this landmark study celebrates the astounding appeal of Rumi, still as strong as ever, 800 years after his birth.
Overdone
| Customer Rating:   | | It is hard to review this book. Althought it is supremely scholarly, it ironically enough falls within the classic trap it discusses: too much scholarliness, not enough spirituality. The author never met a fact he didn't like and put into this book. Whole chapters discuss the second cousins and third generation disciples and whatnot. The book is nearly 700 pages long, telling you everything you ever wanted to know about everything remotely connected to Rumi (though we never do get his shoe size, dang!) but there are only two chapters that really are of interest -- one chapter of poetry translations, and one on his teachings. That's about 50 pages. There is a huge amount of repetition -- no editor seems to have been in touch with this book -- and long lists that could easily have been in footnotes. The only redeeming quality of the other 650 pages is that the author quite sardonically eviscerates the various pseudo-translations, tells us which scholars did what and has a lot to say about the weird folk who have adopted Sufism. So a couple of stars. But if you want this author at his best, go straight to his volume of translations -- Swallowed by the Sun. |
Great Scholarship, but Light on the Poetry
| Customer Rating: | I agree with the other reviewers that the scholarship that went into creating this biography of Rumi and his historical era was exceptional. The level of detail present in this book would be hard to come by in a biography of a more recent historical figure.
My one issue with this book is the general lack of Rumi's poems. I would estimate that there were about 30 or so full poems translated in this book. Clearly, the writer's focus was on Rumi's life, but why title it "...The Life, Teachings and Poetry..." if only to include a brief sampling of the poet's works. Rumi was a mystical poet who translated his life and religious understanding into his work. Without a greater breadth of his work, it is hard to understand who he is. I was all the more disappointed by this because the translations in the book were excellent. He wisely decided to translate the content into a lyrical form suitable to English rather than trying to imitate the original Persian poetic forms that Rumi used.
I feel like this book could have been more complete with more poems. Don't buy this book expecting to read much of his work. Buy this book if you want detailed scholarship on Rumi, his teachers, and his times. |
Superlative job!
| Customer Rating: | If I could give this book TEN STARS, I would. Prof. Franklin Lewis has done a superlative job in bringing out different facets of Mawlana Jalal al-Din Rumi and his father Baha al-Din, his mentor Borhan al-Din, his charismatic awakener Shams al-Din, along the way clearing up various myths and baseless rumors about these men. Not only does Prof. Lewis paint a full picture of the context for Rumi's development, he gives us a long, in-depth analysis of various phases of Mawlana's life, then provides a shorter "recap" synopsis of his career; presents us with exciting, authentic translations of 50 Rumi poems; gives us a candid assessment of various translators old and new of Rumi's works; outlines the interesting history of the manuscripts of his works; traces the history of the Mevlevi Order; and much more (among other things, I was grateful for his mention of the excellent but relatively unknown Rumi translator Ibrahim Gamard, whose website on Rumi is a goldmine of excellent scholarly translations of many sections of the Masnavi, the Divan, etc. And while your at it, also see Iranian-American poet Zara Houshmand's excellent rhyming translations of Rumi's quatrains at www.iranian.com)
Anyone at all interested in Mawlana in more than a passing fashion simply MUST have Prof. Lewis' Rumi book on their shelves. What a treasure trove!
Now, here's hoping that Prof. Lewis will turn his considerable talents to expand his doctoral dissertation on Hakim Sana'i (d.1131) into a lengthy book on that great Persian Sufi poet-sage (who was such an inspiration to Rumi). And, maybe further down the road, he'll bring us books on Farid al-Din Attar and the later Persian poet Hafiz?? Here's hoping...
Just this one fine book on Rumi is a lifetime achievement. |
Rumi: the man behind the mystic poet.
| Customer Rating: | | "Light a fire of love within your soul," Rumi tells us, "burn up these thoughts and words from head to toe" (p. 400). In his impressive, 686-page scholarly study of Jalal al-Din Rumi, Persian scholar Franklin Lewis illuminates the man behind the thirteenth century mystic poet and preacher. Through his meticulous research, Lewis, a professor at Emory University in Atlanta, offers us "a glimpse" into Rumi's life, as well as new insights into Rumi's teachings, widely-popular poetry, and modern influence. "Three short phrases tell the story of my life," Rumi said, "I was raw, I got cooked, I burned" (p. 404). Many of the biographical details of Rumi's life remain unknown. ""Most of what we know about Rumi," Lewis writes, "comes to us clouded by a heavy mist of myth and legend" (p. 272). We follow Rumi from his birth to an Islamic preacher in September, 1207 (p. 272) to his death on December 17, 1273 (p. 276). Along the way, Lewis reveals that his subject married at a young age, about seventeen (p. 320), fathered two children, pursued legal and religious studies in Aleppo and Damascus (p. 273), became a lawyer or professor of law (pp. 123, 274), married again (after his first wife died) and fathered at least two more children (p. 320) before his death. Lewis also examines Rumi's relationship with Shams al-Din Tabrizi, the encounter that transformed Rumi's spirituality; "he became more ecstatic in his worship, expressing his love for God not only in a careful attitude of self-renunciation and control, but also through the joy of poetry, music and meditative dance" (p. 274). Rumi and Shams became "Sufi Bohemians," tasting life for themselves. Their path involved "disciplining and training one's soul, watching over one's heart and concentrating the mind on God" (p. 34). Rumi tells us that "the law of religion is like a candle that shows us the way; without that candle we cannot even set foot on the spiritual path. Once the way is lit with the light of the law, the wayfarer begins his spiritual quest" (p. 37). When Shams disappeared mysteriously, we witness Rumi's "frenetic quest to recover the vision of this spiritual guide turned inward" to the point where Rumi discovers Shams "within himself" (p. 275). Inspired by this remarkable relationship, Rumi composed more than 60,000 lines of verse (p. 314). Lewis includes a sampling of fifty Rumi poems in his book. Lewis tells us that his book should be considered a starting point, at best, for understanding Rumi. Although it should not be considered "the final and definitive biography of Rumi," Lewis writes, it is "intended, then, as a kind of Rumi bible, a manual for anyone interested in the life, poetry, teachings and influence of Jalal al-Din Rumi, who has been called the greatest poet of mankind. The whirling dervishes plant one foot on the floor with their toes fixed around a wooden peg and turn in Rumi's memory. In like manner, I hope this book will help ground all lovers of Rumi as they circle, moth-like, around the flame of his works" (pp. 8-9). G. Merritt |
Not that it matters, however important for researchers
| Customer Rating: | | At the time of Rumi/Molana/Molavi/Jalaledin Mohammad Balkhi and many tens of centuries before it and centuries after, there was no country called Afghanistan (how could he be an Afghani when Afghanistan didn't exist). I fully understand this is besides the message he conveys in his books, however from a scholarly point of view it would be appropriate to identify his country appropriately. Dari and Persian are the same language (two names for the same language), my friend Dari is short for Darbari, the language of Iran (Persia). |
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