Selected Poems from the Divani Shamsi Tabriz (Paperback)

~ Reyno Nicholson (Author) "§ 1. THE Dvan Shamsi Tabriz acquaints us with a striking literary phenomenon1..." (more)
Key Phrases: Shamsi Tabriz, Daulat Shah, Shamsi Din (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Selection of the lyrical poetry of Jalaluddin Rumi.

Language Notes

Text: English, Persian (translation) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 367 pages
• Publisher: RoutledgeCurzon; New edition edition (July 9, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0700704620
• ISBN-13: 978-0700704620
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,499,529 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant, eloquent translation of Rumi's mystical poems, October 2, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Selected Poems from the Divani Shamsi Tabriz (Hardcover)

Rumi's poetry, as brought to us by the brilliant and moving translations of Nicholson, represents one of the highest forms of mystical romantic outpourings. Like Fitzgerald/Khayyam, one is judging the poetic expression of Rumi through the translation of Nicholson. The end result is one of the most remarkable collection of poems, full of emotional impact, weighty with philosophical import. This book is not easy to find, so is a must-have for anyone interested in this subject.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A welcome reprint of an excellent work, December 8, 2007

By	Paul Stevenson "Linguist" (Silver Spring, Maryland, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Selected Poems from the Divan-e Shams-e Tabrizi: Along With the Original Persian (Classics of Persian Literature, 5) (Paperback)

IBEX has done the reading public a great service by reprinting this 1898 edition of a bilingual collection of Rumi's poems. The table of contents shows the wealth of material covered by this compact volume:

Preface
Introduction (includes biography of Rumi, Persian poetry, Sufism)
Addenda and Corrigenda
Selected Poems
Notes (over 100 pages)
Additional notes
Appendices
--I. Illustrative passages from the Divan with a list of the historical and autobiographical allusions
--II. Translations in verse
--III. Table showing where the Selected Poems occur in other editions of the Divan
--IV. Comparative table of passages quoted from the Masnavi
Indices
--I. Persian and Arabic
--II. English

The format with English translation facing Persian text is very helpful. The Persian text is partially vocalized, to a degree well suited to those who have an intermediate, but not advanced, knowledge of the language. Among other things, ezafes are shown, along with the vocalization of otherwise ambiguous forms such as "bovad" (a poetic form of 'to be') which has the same consonants as the much more common "bud" (simple past tense of 'to be'). Each poem begins with the name of the meter in Persian followed by a schematic representation of the meter using macrons and breves.

If you want to introduce yourself to some of the finest of Persian poetry in its original language, this is an excellent book to use.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great job, the best translation so far, October 20, 2009

By	Surush Cyrus (Redmond, WA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Selected Poems from the Divan-e Shams-e Tabrizi: Along With the Original Persian (Classics of Persian Literature, 5) (Paperback)

Great job, I ordered 6 copy for friends and relatives.
By far, this is the best collection and translation that I have ever seen.
For example consider Coleman Barks work. I think that Coleman has done a great Job introducing Rumi to the west. However, Coleman work is drawing only very loosely on Rumi's work. Coleman's work is rather a stretch to call it a translation! If one were cynical, one might think the large number of books from Coleman indicates merely a money-making exercise.