Customer Reviews

These Branching Moments: Forty Odes by Rumi

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The words "Sufi mystic" might make you expect Rumi's poetry to be impenetrable or even weird. How wrong that assumption would be! There are definitely gaps of time and culture in reading this 13th century master's works, but his verses are more fresh than much modern poetry that tries to be "deep." There is humor here, too, the gentle kind of someone who enjoyed life and used poetry to describe the surprises that simple things can bring to a day. The simple is celebrated and often becomes a spiritual lesson.

This is a thin volume which would be a good introduction for new readers. Skim the introduction or skip it altogether and dive right into the master's work!...

Rumi was born in Afghanistan, wrote in Persian and lived most of his life in the region of Konya, Turkey. There he inspired the whirling dervish sect that still turns as a form of spiritual meditation. He was and is loved by people of many nationalities and faiths. As much as I'm sure gets lost in translation, there is still much of beauty and insight in Rumi's writing.