Review (PDF) Selected Poems From The Divan-e Shams-e Tabrizi: Along With The Original Persian (Classics Of Persian Literature, 5)
Rumi at the age of thirty-seven meets Shams Tabrizi (the sun of Tabriz) "a weird figure wrapped in coarse black felt, who flits across the stage for a moment and disappears tragically enough." Shams has variously been described as: "being extremely ugly"; "a most disgusting cynic;" and having an "exceedingly aggressive and domineering manner." Jalaluddin, who until then had no interest or liking for poetry "found in the stranger that perfect image of the Divine Beloved which he had long been seeking. He took him away to his house, and for a year or two they remained inseparable. … Rumi’s pupils resented their teacher’s preoccupation with the eccentric stranger, and vilified and intrigued against him until Shams fled to Damascus. Rumi sent his son to bring him back; but the tongues of his jealous traducers soon wagged again, and … in 1247, the man of mystery vanished without leaving a trace behind." Introduction to and selections from Rumi translated into English by well-known scholar Nicholson along with the original Persian.
Paperback: 367 pages
Publisher: IBEX Publishers; 48921st edition (March 1, 2001)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0936347619
ISBN-13: 978-0936347615
Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 1.1 x 7 inches
Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #630,048 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #160 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Regional & Cultural > Middle Eastern #230 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Islam > Sufism #727 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Themes & Styles > Inspirational & Religious
IBEX has done the reading public a great service by reprinting this 1898 edition of a bilingual collection of Rumi's poems. The table of contents shows the wealth of material covered by this compact volume:PrefaceIntroduction (includes biography of Rumi, Persian poetry, Sufism)Addenda and CorrigendaSelected PoemsNotes (over 100 pages)Additional notesAppendices--I. Illustrative passages from the Divan with a list of the historical and autobiographical allusions--II. Translations in verse--III. Table showing where the Selected Poems occur in other editions of the Divan--IV. Comparative table of passages quoted from the MasnaviIndices--I. Persian and Arabic--II. EnglishThe format with English translation facing Persian text is very helpful. The Persian text is partially vocalized, to a degree well suited to those who have an intermediate, but not advanced, knowledge of the language. Among other things, ezafes are shown, along with the vocalization of otherwise ambiguous forms such as "bovad" (a poetic form of 'to be') which has the same consonants as the much more common "bud" (simple past tense of 'to be'). Each poem begins with the name of the meter in Persian followed by a schematic representation of the meter using macrons and breves.If you want to introduce yourself to some of the finest of Persian poetry in its original language, this is an excellent book to use.
Nicholson has great appeal for me as I find in his translations connections to Rumi that the more poetical versions lack. It seems that after 10 years of searching for what truly reverberates in me, and feeds my soul, the very literal is the most appealing. There is no manipulation of words and meanings here, no exclamations of "I have preserved the essence of Rumi's poetry in my translations," from those who who do not know any language other than english. Nicholson is amazing - his notes on each of the Ghazels are truly revealing of The Poet's intent and style. I only wish all of the Divan could have been translated by Nicholson. We have his complete Mathnawi which is simply a gift to be forever frequently opened and pondered. This book is a gem.
Though Nicholson's translations of Rumi's works are not as well known today as other translators' (some of whom can't be called translators as they don't even know Persian), Nicholson's translations are among the highest (the highest?) fidelity translations of Rumi we have. He knew Rumi's works (having translated the entire Masnawi), the philosophy and had mastery of the necessary languages and thus this annotated translation is a gem. Read the footnotes for an indepth understanding of these translations of select poems from Rumi's magnificent Divan of Shams Tabriz.
Ditto on all that has been said regarding this volume....furthermore, ive got the first edition and return to it often. it is deceptively simple....but this volume is worth ten of any other single selection of Rumi....it is packed and fine.....no new age nonsense here as with some other versions which i wont name...good to see it stay in print....alex caldiero, your frendly nayburhood sonosopher
Great job, I ordered 6 copy for friends and relatives.By far, this is the best collection and translation that I have ever seen.For example consider Coleman Barks work. I think that Coleman has done a great Job introducing Rumi to the west. However, Coleman work is drawing only very loosely on Rumi's work. Coleman's work is rather a stretch to call it a translation! If one were cynical, one might think the large number of books from Coleman indicates merely a money-making exercise.
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