Rumi's World: The Life and Works of the Greatest Sufi Poet (Shambhala dragon editions) [Paperback]

Annemarie Schimmel (Author)

Book Description

Series: Shambhala dragon editions | Publication Date: May 22, 2001

This book (previously published as I Am Wind, You Are Fire ) celebrates the extraordinary career of Persia's great mystical poet, Rumi (1207–1273), through the story of his life, along with an enlightening examination of his ecstatic verse. Rumi lived the quiet life of a religious teacher in Anatolia until the age of thirty-seven, when he came under the influence of a whirling dervish, Shams Tabriz, and was moved to a state of mystical ecstasy. One of the results of this ecstasy was a prodigious output of poems about the search for the lost Divine Beloved, whom Rumi identified with Shams. To symbolize this search, Rumi also invented the famous whirling dance of the Melevi dervishes, which are performed accompanied by the chanting of Rumi's poems. Professor Schimmel illuminates the symbolism and significance of Rumi's vast output and offers her own translations of some of his most famous poems.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Annemarie Schimmel has been immersed in Rumi for over forty years. Her scholarship and devotion are magnificent. She has a deep understanding of the poems, the mystical puns, the music, and the dancy inner meanings of Rumi's work."—Coleman Barks, author of The Essential Rumi.

About the Author

Annemarie Schimmel is an international authority on Islamic religion and literature and especially the works of Rumi. The author of over seventy books, she is now retired from Harvard University and the University of Bonn but continues to lecture worldwide.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Shambhala; 1st edition (May 22, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0877736111
• ISBN-13: 978-0877736110
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.6 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #608,856 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best introductions to the life and works of Rumi you can find, June 29, 2007

By 

Gogol (England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rumi's World: The Life and Works of the Greatest Sufi Poet (Shambhala dragon editions) (Paperback)

Origninaly called "I am wind, you are fire" This is perhaps one of the best introductions to the life and works of Rumi around by one of the greatest scholars of Rumi in our modern times (sadly professor Schimmel has now passed away)

The book is well documented and easy to read covering the basics of Rumis life and teachings both placing them in their correct historical and religious context; none of this modernist revisionist Rumi poetry that is being passed around as the great mans works this is an authentic biography of his life.

Exellent read, check out Iqbal, Arberry and Nicholson after this book.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful account of Mawlana's life, poetry and teachings., August 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Rumi's World: The Life and Works of the Greatest Sufi Poet (Shambhala dragon editions) (Paperback)

This book is very beautifully written; though a work of prose it reads like poetry--such is the beauty of the language. Indeed, such writing is befitting of the subject: the great Islamic saint and Sufi mystic Mawlana Jalal ud Deen Rumi [may his secret be sanctified!].

IN this aspect it too succeeds dealing with all apsects of Mawlana's life in detail and with great love and enthusiasm which shines through in each line. If you are interested in Mawlana Rumi--get this book!

3 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Reductionist Rumi, September 20, 2007

By 

JohnG "JohnG" (Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Rumi's World: The Life and Works of the Greatest Sufi Poet (Shambhala dragon editions) (Paperback)

I am not sure I should write this review, since I have been unable to finish the book so far. The author's pedigree is also intimidating. Yet this book is a cold emotionless dissection, mostly uninteresting except for an academic who has long lost the sense of who or what he's studying. The book takes Rumi apart like a corpse on a slab. To get through it so far, I've escaped periodically to Coleman Bark's Essential Rumi. His brief introduction and forward alone provides more insight into what Rumi is about than the three-quarters of the book I've managed to struggle through so far.
Prodded on by the other reviews to the suspicion that I may have missed something here, I plan to finish the book and reread it again. Yet I should warn others that reading this book as an introduction to Rumi may be like viewing a bearskin rug as an introduction to wildlife. After a reread, I will revisit this review, perhaps reedit it at that time.
Sept.07