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Rumi: The Big Red Book: The Great Masterpiece Celebrating Mystical Love And Friendship

“Really, what other book would anyone ever need?” —Naomi Shihab Nye, author of Honeybee“Elegant and exquisite.” —Deepak Chopra, author of Muhammad, Jesus, and BuddhaThe Big Red Book is a poetic masterpiece from Jalaluddin Rumi, the medieval Sufi mystic whom Time magazine calls “the most popular poet in America.” Readers continue to be awed and inspired by Rumi’s masterfully lyrical, deeply expressive poems, collected in volumes such as The Illustrated Rumi, The Soul of Rumi, and the bestselling The Essential Rumi. With The Big Red Book, acclaimed poet and Rumi interpreter Coleman Barks offers a never-before-published translation of a crucial anthology of poems widely considered to be one of Persian literature’s greatest treasures.

Paperback: 512 pages

Publisher: HarperOne; Reprint edition (December 5, 2011)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0061905836

ISBN-13: 978-0061905834

Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 1.3 x 9.2 inches

Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #51,508 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #17 in Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > Middle Eastern #17 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Regional & Cultural > Middle Eastern #35 in Books > Literature & Fiction > History & Criticism > Movements & Periods > Medieval

Rumi is widely described as the most popular poet in the English language and that may be true, although no one seems to have definitive data to prove that claim. In any case, there are well over 100 Rumi titles available on . Here's why this particular volume is worth buying:Coleman Barks is the noted American poet who has devoted decades of his life to interpreting Rumi's work for modern English-language readers. He's not a scholar of Rumi's own original language, but Barks works with leading scholars and translators to come up with the best translations of the original Rumi texts, then Coleman interprets these verses in poetry that is accurate to the original -- and brings fresh poetic insight to today's readers. Among other things, this massive book is Barks' own selection of what he sees as the best of Rumi's body of work that sometimes is referred to as "The Works of Shams Tabriz." That's right: The actual body of Rumi's work is far larger. Rumi's work also isn't as well organized as this volume -- at least to contemporary eyes. Barks does a whole lot to help us enter this mysterious world full of astonishing lines, images and thoughts.Who was Shams Tabriz? You'll learn in the book that he is a mysterious figure. He was Rumi's mentor and friend, but far more than that. He was Rumi's gateway really into spiritual and creative transformation. Shams soon vanished. The book's introduction explains theories on what happened to Shams. But Rumi felt a great and lingering grief and longing after Shams disappeared. This led to these epic reflections on the nature of daily life, the universe, our quest to raise our awareness of the world's daily wonders--and the profound nature of friendship.

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