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

~ Jalal Al-Din Rumi (Author), Jalaluddin Rumi (Author), Reynold A. Nicholson (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Rumi at the age of thirty-seven meets Shams Tabrizi (the sun of Tabriz) "a weird figure wrapped in coarse black felt, who flits across the stage for a moment and disappears tragically enough." Shams has variously been described as: "being extremely ugly"; "a most disgusting cynic;" and having an "exceedingly aggressive and domineering manner." Jalaluddin, who until then had no interest or liking for poetry "found in the stranger that perfect image of the Divine Beloved which he had long been seeking. He took him away to his house, and for a year or two they remained inseparable. Â… RumiÂ’s pupils resented their teacherÂ’s preoccupation with the eccentric stranger, and vilified and intrigued against him until Shams fled to Damascus. Rumi sent his son to bring him back; but the tongues of his jealous traducers soon wagged again, and Â… in 1247, the man of mystery vanished without leaving a trace behind."

Introduction to and selections from Rumi translated into English by well-known scholar Nicholson along with the original Persian.

Language Notes

Text: English, Persian (translation)
Original Language: Persian

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Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Ibex Pub (March 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0936347619
• ISBN-13: 978-0936347615
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #410,144 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)

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

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.