Dark Night of the Soul [Paperback]

John of the Cross (Author), Mirabai Starr (Translator), Thomas Moore (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 4, 2003

What a beautiful translation!..Starr offers us an entryway and a path into this sixteenth-century mystic's mind, and gives us a fine, personal introduction to begin our luminous journey." (Natalie Goldberg, bestselling author of Writing Down the Bones)

While imprisoned for his attempts to reform the Church, 16th-century Spanish mystic John of the Cross composed many of his now classic poems of the soul's longing for God. Escaping his captors, John fell into a state of ecstasy and finished Dark Night of the Soul, with additional commentary for other seekers.

Now, for the first time, a scholar unaffiliated with the Catholic Church has crafted "an engaging and evocative translation of John's most famous treatise." Drawing from Buddhist, Hindu and Judaic traditions, Mirabai Starr's fresh new translation restores the beauty and candor of the original while offering profound new relevance for the 21st-century seeker.

New translation and introduction by Mirabai Starr.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Almost every believer feels forgotten by God sometimes. Even Christ cried out on the cross, "Oh God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Dark Night of the Soul, a 16th-century mystical text written by the Carmelite monk St. John of the Cross, ranks among Christianity’s most helpful answers to this enduring question. In St. John’s vision of spiritual life, the pain of separation from God is to be embraced, not avoided. "The dark night is about being fully present in the tender, wounded emptiness of our own souls," explains translator Mirabai Starr--although she grants that modern culture makes such acceptance hard to attain. "We tend to see difficult feelings as a form of illness, which we hope to conquer, cure, and expel. [St. John of the Cross] has a far greater imagination of human life: his goal is not health but union with the divine." Several fine English translations of Dark Night already exist; Starr’s, however, is distinguished by its ecumenism. Minimizing the explicit scriptural references of the original text, she makes the treasures of Dark Night more accessible to readers of all religious traditions. --Michael Joseph Gross --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Along with Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross remains one of the West's most well-known and beloved mystics. And like Teresa's, his writings are masterpieces of ecstatic poetry, depicting a lover the soul that seeks union with the Beloved, God. Starr, who teaches philosophy and religious studies at the University of New Mexico, offers an engaging and evocative new translation of John's most famous treatise, "Dark Night of the Soul." Composed as a result of his imprisonment, it follows the soul's journey from a state of abandonment and darkness to its profound ecstasy in finding God waiting to receive it. In order for the soul to achieve this rapturous union, John instructs, it must give up its complacent practice of prayer or other spiritual routines that separate it from a full union with God. John's now-classic spiritual commentary urges us to find rest in the emptiness of the dark night and to abandon ourselves to the love that is present at the center of this emptiness. Although John wrote "Dark Night of the Soul" for his Christian brothers and sisters, his rapturous mysticism provides a way to union with the divine for a wide variety of spiritual seekers. As Starr points out in her introduction, John's abandonment of self in order to achieve union with the Other mirrors contemporary spiritual practices of Buddhism and Hinduism. Starr's lyrical translation and her thoughtful introduction bring new life to John's powerful treatise on the life of the soul. (Feb. 18)Forecast: Although E. Allison Peers's monumental translation of "Dark Night of the Soul" remains definitive, it is wooden and literal, and emphasizes John's place in Christian theology and spirituality. Starr's lively translation transcends the narrowness of Peers's to reach a wide audience of contemporary spiritual seekers.

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Riverhead Trade (February 4, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1573229741
• ISBN-13: 978-1573229746
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 4.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #87,315 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

69 of 73 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars priceless, June 2, 2002

By 

tim_farrington "tim_farrington" (Virginia Beach, VA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dark Night of the Soul (Hardcover)

John of the Cross is, for me, quite simply the crucial Christian contemplative; his dark night spirituality is still the absolute state of the art for anyone beyond the feel-good phase of a life of prayer. My copy of the excellent Cavanaugh-Rodriquez translation of John's collected works (which is the definitive scholarly translation, in my opinion, not the Peers version) is so well-thumbed it has to be be held together by tape. But I've always hesitated to recommend the works of John of the Cross even to people I am sure would benefit by his wisdom, because his writing is extremely difficult, a somewhat windy, dry, and arcane 16th-century style, dense with scriptural allusion and theological citation, repetitive, and, in several cases, literally unfinished. Mirabai Starr is clearly the gifted editor John has been waiting for. Her poet's ear and mystic's heart are just what was needed to bring the depth, lucidity, and loving essence of John's most famous work into a form that is accessible at last to a wider range of contemporary seekers. Her translation of "The Dark Night," and her beautiful and wise introduction, are exquisitely lucid. The language is fresh, the pacing crisp, and even the most difficult passages are made clear and musical, capturing both the joy and the genuine, sometimes terrifying challenge of the soul's journey into the deepest mysteries of God, into what T.S. Eliot, another Christian mystic who could sometimes use a translator, called "a condition of complete simplicity, costing not less than everything." Mirabai has shown us both the simplcity, and the absolute cost, of the deepest spirituality, in this gorgeous gift of a book, this labor of love, which seems to me to be destined to become a classic.

26 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My All Time Favorite Book, February 24, 2004

By 

R. Kirkham "jrkirkham" (Rushville, Illinois USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dark Night of the Soul (Hardcover)

Next to Holy Scripture that is, but then again I do not consider the Bible to be compared with any other human work.

PROS - The first time I read DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL I couldn't understand it, but could tell it contained something worth study. The second time I read it, I began to glimpse that it spoke of something beyond me, but extremely important. The third time I read it, it made my theology feel like that of a preschooler. I finally went to stay in a monastery for a few days so I could be tutored in understanding this book. The next time I read it, it began to make sense. Though it is still over my head, today this is my all time favorite book, no matter who does the translation.

CONS - That being said, translation is very important to understanding this book. John was distinctly Christian. Any attempt to universalize his writings might yield something of value, but of far less value than John intended. Mirabai Starr's translation minimizes Christian references intentionally.

VERDICT - I personally give this and all other translations 5 stars. I am happy to have this translation in my library. However, it lacks some of the punch of others I have studied.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A hidden classic, Know or Learn Spanish!, January 30, 2006

By 

E. Garza - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dark Night of the Soul (Paperback)

A great book with a very open mind on the form of the divine. A must read for persons seeking to deepen and mature their spiritual journey in the way of Christ. Get it!! It helps to know Spanish to read the whole poem in the begining.