Customer Reviews

Rumi: Fountain of Fire

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These poems are so poignantly rendered in the English language from the Persian, it's as if Rumi himself had traveled forward in time to rewrite them just for us. You don't have to be a Sufi to appreciate the wisdom of these words, and you don't have to like poetry to find them unbearably beautiful. This is the ultimate gift of love.

These translations are the purest and the most inspiring I've seen. Let this be your source of RUMI's teachings as it is mine.

"Seek not water, seek thirst."--Rumi

I have been searching for a copy of this book for over a year. While Coleman Barks seems to be getting better and better over time, Nader Khalili has arrived. These are wonderful selections, beautifully translated. Nader's style adds a wonderful touch to Rumi's sure words, and the resulting combination is truly inspiring. I can't sing enough praises for this book. Buy it, and help me convince Nader to write more. Anyone have his e-mail address?

Of the several dozen books of translations that I have read, Fountain of Fire is one of my most favorites. It is inspiring (isn't all Rumi?), graceful and full of incredible insight. Khalili has created a beautiful work from a divine work. If I were to have only one or two books of Rumi this would be one of them. In fact, my copy is very well worn from travelling around so much with it!

This is the best Rumi rendition I've seen, by far - and I've seen pretty much all of them (from Nicholson to Arberry to Barks to Schimmel to Shiva to Star). Khalili takes in Rumi in the original Persian, ingests, digests, and spits out pure ecstasy in English. He is free with form and selective with the verses - yet his rendition is closer to the original Persian than many of the non-native translators'. I keep one copy in the house, one in the car and one at work - each page is a momentary trap-door into another world. Khalili's is as Rumi was intended.

[update: july 2004]I can also recommend Raficq Abdulla's "Words of Paradise" and Jonathan Star's "Rumi: in the arms of the beloved" as good translations/renditions.

Magnificient and soul-stirring poetry. The words flow like honey and transpose the heart into a restful state. It seems as if Runi had a direct connection to the glory of God. Sentimental and romantic to say the least. It is as if I was reading words written in gold and diamonds.