Rumi: Hidden Music [Hardcover]

Maryam Mafi (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2002

A breathtaking never before translated collection of poems by Rumi, one of the world's most mystical teachers. These beautiful, contemporary new translations combined with gorgeous full color images speak directly to us now. The poems are grouped thematically, and explore the intricacies of love, longing, and the quest for truth and joy with mystical splendor.

Editorial Reviews

Review

From Hidden Music: My love, you are closer to me than myself, You shine through my eyes. Your light is brighter than the moon. Step into the garden So all the flowers, even the tall poplar Can kneel before your beauty. Let your voice silence the lily Famous for its hundred tongues.

About the Author

Maryam Mafi is an experienced Persian translator who studied in the US and has translated a variety of scholarly and poetic works. She is based in London. Azima Melita Kolin is a poet, musician and an artist living in London. Coming from different backgrounds of language, music and art, they have stretched the boundaries of their collaboration from Iran to Bulgaria, from America to eastern and western Europe. Their meeting place is the love they both share for Rumi.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Thorsons (January 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 000712032X
• ISBN-13: 978-0007120321
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #850,791 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unsettling intimacy, February 26, 2003

By 

Angela Lacross (Wilmington, Vermont USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rumi: Hidden Music (Hardcover)

Rumi has the power to make love poetry unusually accessible. Though his words are ancient, his themes are timeless. This is a book that you will carry with you in travels, on the plane, the bus, etc. because you truly do not tire of his message. His poetry is the kind you want to memorize. It is comforting, but also can be disturbingly accurate and makes you consider your own inadequacy towards love that you may not have considered before. This is not love in the sense of eroticism, per-se. Rather it is an introspective approach to how one approaches and applies love to the world around them. You will read these works more than once. The addition of his paintings helps give the reader a more thorough appreciation for his light and magic. His art has the same ethereal quality as his words, and gives you a tranquil visual aid to calm the mind in its preparation towards the text. Rumi helps us approach the world with a kinder heart & a more forgiving spirit; a concept that we are vastly losing sight of in this quick-fix aggressive world we embrace all to readily.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lyric and beautiful, December 27, 2003

By 

doc peterson (Portland, Oregon USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Rumi: Hidden Music (Hardcover)

Rumi, a 13th century Sufi poet, writes of love in the Sufi sense - that is to say, love to the divine, and a recognition of the divine in all things - in a rooftop, a cup, dust. On another level, Rumi also writes of the nature of love - uttery surrendering yourself, giving yourself over completely. The collection of poems here are wonderful, in a beautiful translation. The art included is also beautiful, although they are by one of the translators and not by Rumi himself, as another reviewer thought.

The book, in short is a thing of beauty - as love is. Highly recommended.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rumi in its full depth, February 5, 2006

By 

Steve Uhlig (Berlin, Germany) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rumi: Hidden Music (Hardcover)

As already pointed out very nicely by other reviewers, there is no word to describe Rumi's love poems. Still, it has to be clear that Rumi's Love is not an Earthly one, but a Spiritual one, pointing back to the Source, to the Creator.

The breaks in between the poems of this book help a lot the reader to meditate on the poetry. This is a very good idea to space the poems like that. Poems are food for your Soul, so to get the full benefit from it better eat slowly to help digestion...