In each of these poems, taken from his long work The Interpreter of Desire, the Sufi master Ibn 'Arabi (1165–1240) evokes the transcendent experience of spiritual love—provoked by his encounter with a young Persian woman named Nizham, "harmony." Nizham becomes the emblem of the perfect expression of love, of beauty, of divinity. He discovers her and loves her in desert sand dunes, in the beneficent shades of rare groves, in the cool wind, in the dazzling sun—in all the movements of nature. Calligraphy (from the Greek for "beautiful writing") is an art where word and image meet, where the artist strives to give visual expression to the meaning of words in a way that transcends the text while remaining completely faithful to it. It is a discipline that has been invested with spiritual significance wherever it has arisen—and it has arisen throughout the world in every age, in virtually every language, culture, and religion. The Shambhala Calligraphy series is a collection of books devoted to contemporary expressions of this "art of the word," featuring contemporary calligraphers' striking new interpretations of texts that have been traditional subjects for calligraphic interpretation. Whether in Arabic, Greek, Hebrew, Latin, or Chinese pictographs, the characters, words, and sentences are brought to life anew here in a choreography of mind, hand, and heart by which letter and spirit fuse in a single stroke.
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Among the other three volumes in Shambhala's series is Perfect Harmony: Sufi Poetry of Ibn `Arabi, which pairs the poetry of the 13th-century Sufi mystic with contemporary calligraphy by Hassan Massoudy. In a moving afterword, Massoudy explains how he became involved in calligraphy as a child, and how his work is inspired by poetry.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
"Ibn 'Arabi's impassioned poetry, a dizzying testament to love as a transcendent experience, is uniquely sanctified through Massoudy's sweeping characters and burning desert colors."— NAPRA Review
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
a treasure,
By A Customer
This review is from: Perfect Harmony (Calligrapher's Notebooks) (Paperback)
This is a beautiful marriage of word and art, word in art, and divine revelation through intimate encounter with poetry. The calligraphy that meets the word creates a fire bed of understanding within you. At points while reading/experiencing this beautiful book I had to stop, lay down, and close my eyes. Such passion is generated and released within this short work. I love the picture of the calligraphor in the back of the book, very simple and authentic, at work in front of a huge shelf filled with glass jars of paints and colored powders. Thanks to Mr. Massoudy for letting Ibn Al-Arabi swirl through his work in all his rich, vibrant love-drenched wildness! WOW! Get this book! Keep it close!
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"A double letter at the moment of union",
By
This review is from: Perfect Harmony (Calligrapher's Notebooks) (Paperback)
In this magnificent book, word and form achieve a perfect harmony like that of Ibn 'Arabi and his beloved. Ibn 'Arabi's beautiful, many-layered love poetry and Hassan Massoudy's luminous calligraphy are among the most astonishing things I've experienced in a long while. Read this and weep for what is happening now in Najaf, Massoudy's home town.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
IBN 'ARABI, the "greatest master," as he is very often called in the Sufi tradition, was born in Andalusia and lived between 1165 and 1240. Read the first page New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | First Pages | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
IBN 'ARABI, the "greatest master," as he is very often called in the Sufi tradition, was born in Andalusia and lived between 1165 and 1240. Read the first page New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | First Pages | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 1
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cites this book:
- Canticle of the Sun (Calligrapher's Notebooks) by St. Francis Assisi in Front Flap
- Trading Faith: Global Religion in and Age of Rapid Change by David A. Hart in Back Matter
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