Customer Reviews

The Hand of Poetry (Lectures on Persian Poetry)

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Most poetry lovers have discovered Rumi. In this book Rumi and four other mystic poets are celebrated. The five lectures given by Pir-o-Murshid Inagyat Khan, who is credited with bringing Sufism to the West, are fascinating mini bios of the five men. The lectures were given in San Franciso in 1923 and have been translated by Coleman Barks. There are notes included by Barks as well. Rumi considered two of these poets his poetic masters: Attar and Sanai. Fariduddin Attar was a perfumist, a doctor and a poet. He was born in Nishapur in 1119. His most famous poem is "The Conference of the Birds". My favourite is "Mysticism" in which he writes "I met a woman once and asked her where love had led her. 'Fool, there's no destination to arrive at. Loved one and lover and love are infinite'. There is a list of "Sources" in the back of the book so readers can find more on the poets that especially resonate with them. As Rumi wrote: "Listen to presences inside poems. Let them take you where they will."

There is beauty here both in the words and in the deeper mystical message that these C13th poets share with us. They take you on an exotic journey in to yourself. You sense a familiarity about what is said and Coleman Barks' translation is such that the words sound not from a bygone era but from this very moment...

I've bought four copies of this book and re-read it many times. After you're finished you'll want to give it to everyone you know!

Yuk. This book came in the mail yesterday and its going back in the mail tomorrow (today is Sunday so I can't mail it today). Having read Hafiz for awhile, I went immediately to that section of the book in order to consider the virtue of the whole. First I felt dismay, then disgust, then dismay again. Bark's versions of Hafiz are not just bad, they're very bad. And I don't mean bad in a good way. I can't comment on his damage to the other poets because I'm not as familiar with them. If you're interested in Hafiz, I would recommend The Green Sea of Heaven. Its a very pleasing and legitimate translation. AVOID DANIEL LADINSKY if you're looking for Hafiz. He writes good original poems, but then deceptively claims that they are Hafiz translations. For Attar, check out The Conference of the Birds. Here's a tip: check to see if the "translator" is actually translating from the original language or is interpreting from pre-translated material. Why go into a nice restaurant and order a corn-dog?

The book consists of translations by Coleman Barks with lectures by Inayat Khan. If you love Rumi, prepare yourself for a treat because Khan takes you by the hand and introduces you to Sanai, Attar, Saadi, Hafiz, and of course, the inimitable Rumi in a crystalline translation.

"Let the beauty we love be what we do" - Rumi

Don't let the volume get away!

This book is a beautiful introduction to the world of Sufi poetry. The five featured poets are each dazzling masters of language whose works grow richer with each re-reading. The greatest part of this book, however, is the amazing introductions by Inayat Khan. His words are full of both wisdom and beauty. They will enchant any who read them and, like the poetry, they will provide the reader a great deal to think about.

Mr. Coleman's text has very little to do with the originals. I could see how someone could come to the interpretations that he has come to, - after all, there could be infinite number of interpretations to a text - but that then one would publish them as "translations" is in my opinion a bit too irresponsible, even if one mentions this fact in the introduction. Mr. Coleman has arrived at the undecidability of the text, and has realized that as Adorno would say, "one can not interpret anything out of a text, that one has not introduced into it." Once he has realized the hermaneutic call to interpretation can not ever be fully satisfied, he then decides to interpret pure kitch into it. I feel very sorry for those who get introduced to the great masterpieces of Persian literature as packaged in the butcher-shop of Mr. Coleman.

This is one of my favorite collections of poetry. The thoughtful talks of Inayat Khan are interspersed with modern interpretations of the poets and their poems by Coleman Barks.