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Rumi: Unseen Poems
A collection of never-before-translated poems by the widely beloved medieval Persian poet Rumi.Rumi (1207-1273) was trained in Sufism--a mystic tradition within Islam--and founded the Sufi order known to us as the Whirling Dervishes, who use dance and music as part of their spiritual devotion. Rumi's poetry has long been popular with contemporary Western audiences because of the way it combines the sacred and the sensual, describing divine love in rapturously human terms.However, a number of Rumi's English translators over the past century were not speakers of Persian and they based their sometimes very free interpretations on earlier translations. With Western audiences in mind, translators also tended to tone down or leave out elements of Persian culture and of Islam in Rumi's work, and hundreds of the prolific poet's works were never made available to English speakers at all. In this new translation--composed almost entirely of untranslated gems from Rumi's vast ouevre--Brad Gooch and Maryam Mortaz aim to achieve greater fidelity to the originals while still allowing Rumi's lyric exuberance to shine.
- GenresPoetry
222 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 10, 2019
26 people are currently reading
59 people want to read
About the author
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi
1,169 books15.7k followersSufism inspired writings of Persian poet and mystic Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi; these writings express the longing of the soul for union with the divine.
Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī - also known as Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Balkhī, Mevlânâ/Mawlānā (مولانا, "our master"), Mevlevî/Mawlawī (مولوی, "my master") and more popularly simply as Rumi - was a 13th-century Persian poet, jurist, Islamic scholar, theologian and Sufi mystic who lived in Konya, a city of Ottoman Empire (Today's Turkey). His poems have been widely translated into many of the world's languages, and he has been described as the most popular poet and the best-selling poet in the United States.
His poetry has influenced Persian literature, but also Turkish, Ottoman Turkish, Azerbaijani, Punjabi, Hindi, and Urdu, as well as the literature of some other Turkic, Iranian, and Indo-Aryan languages including Chagatai, Pashto, and Bengali.
Due to quarrels between different dynasties in Khorāṣān, opposition to the Khwarizmid Shahs who were considered devious by his father, Bahā ud-Dīn Wālad or fear of the impending Mongol cataclysm, his father decided to migrate westwards, eventually settling in the Anatolian city Konya, where he lived most of his life, composed one of the crowning glories of Persian literature, and profoundly affected the culture of the area.
When his father died, Rumi, aged 25, inherited his position as the head of an Islamic school. One of Baha' ud-Din's students, Sayyed Burhan ud-Din Muhaqqiq Termazi, continued to train Rumi in the Shariah as well as the Tariqa, especially that of Rumi's father. For nine years, Rumi practised Sufism as a disciple of Burhan ud-Din until the latter died in 1240 or 1241. Rumi's public life then began: he became an Islamic Jurist, issuing fatwas and giving sermons in the mosques of Konya. He also served as a Molvi (Islamic teacher) and taught his adherents in the madrassa. During this period, Rumi also travelled to Damascus and is said to have spent four years there.
It was his meeting with the dervish Shams-e Tabrizi on 15 November 1244 that completely changed his life. From an accomplished teacher and jurist, Rumi was transformed into an ascetic.
On the night of 5 December 1248, as Rumi and Shams were talking, Shams was called to the back door. He went out, never to be seen again. Rumi's love for, and his bereavement at the death of, Shams found their expression in an outpouring of lyric poems, Divan-e Shams-e Tabrizi. He himself went out searching for Shams and journeyed again to Damascus.
Rumi found another companion in Salaḥ ud-Din-e Zarkub, a goldsmith. After Salah ud-Din's death, Rumi's scribe and favourite student, Hussam-e Chalabi, assumed the role of Rumi's companion. Hussam implored Rumi to write more. Rumi spent the next 12 years of his life in Anatolia dictating the six volumes of this masterwork, the Masnavi, to Hussam.
In December 1273, Rumi fell ill and died on the 17th of December in Konya.
Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī - also known as Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Balkhī, Mevlânâ/Mawlānā (مولانا, "our master"), Mevlevî/Mawlawī (مولوی, "my master") and more popularly simply as Rumi - was a 13th-century Persian poet, jurist, Islamic scholar, theologian and Sufi mystic who lived in Konya, a city of Ottoman Empire (Today's Turkey). His poems have been widely translated into many of the world's languages, and he has been described as the most popular poet and the best-selling poet in the United States.
His poetry has influenced Persian literature, but also Turkish, Ottoman Turkish, Azerbaijani, Punjabi, Hindi, and Urdu, as well as the literature of some other Turkic, Iranian, and Indo-Aryan languages including Chagatai, Pashto, and Bengali.
Due to quarrels between different dynasties in Khorāṣān, opposition to the Khwarizmid Shahs who were considered devious by his father, Bahā ud-Dīn Wālad or fear of the impending Mongol cataclysm, his father decided to migrate westwards, eventually settling in the Anatolian city Konya, where he lived most of his life, composed one of the crowning glories of Persian literature, and profoundly affected the culture of the area.
When his father died, Rumi, aged 25, inherited his position as the head of an Islamic school. One of Baha' ud-Din's students, Sayyed Burhan ud-Din Muhaqqiq Termazi, continued to train Rumi in the Shariah as well as the Tariqa, especially that of Rumi's father. For nine years, Rumi practised Sufism as a disciple of Burhan ud-Din until the latter died in 1240 or 1241. Rumi's public life then began: he became an Islamic Jurist, issuing fatwas and giving sermons in the mosques of Konya. He also served as a Molvi (Islamic teacher) and taught his adherents in the madrassa. During this period, Rumi also travelled to Damascus and is said to have spent four years there.
It was his meeting with the dervish Shams-e Tabrizi on 15 November 1244 that completely changed his life. From an accomplished teacher and jurist, Rumi was transformed into an ascetic.
On the night of 5 December 1248, as Rumi and Shams were talking, Shams was called to the back door. He went out, never to be seen again. Rumi's love for, and his bereavement at the death of, Shams found their expression in an outpouring of lyric poems, Divan-e Shams-e Tabrizi. He himself went out searching for Shams and journeyed again to Damascus.
Rumi found another companion in Salaḥ ud-Din-e Zarkub, a goldsmith. After Salah ud-Din's death, Rumi's scribe and favourite student, Hussam-e Chalabi, assumed the role of Rumi's companion. Hussam implored Rumi to write more. Rumi spent the next 12 years of his life in Anatolia dictating the six volumes of this masterwork, the Masnavi, to Hussam.
In December 1273, Rumi fell ill and died on the 17th of December in Konya.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 21, 2019
Rumi was a Persian poet and a Sufi Muslim. His love poems are a hit amongst readers.
But why haven't I heard or seen any of his works before?
I picked this beautifully curated book at random and I was immediately intrigued. His words transported me to this world of tranquillity, full of love and passion. Needless to say, I instantly fell in love with Rumi's words. I appreciated the religious aspects of it - although I am not a Sufi Muslim myself, the author and I both share the same faith. Rumi has a relationship with God that any person can covet. It's profoundly moving.
Sometimes it's difficult to envision him as a Muslim and as someone who lived nearly a thousand years ago due to the many references to being drunk (might be metaphorical? I don't have an issue with it, just wanted to point it out) and that his writing seemed contemporary. There's a magical, mystical twist to it as well, similar to his beliefs.
Although his poems are intimate, in my perspective, Rumi remains a mysterious fellow. If only I could read his works in the original language. All in all, kudos to the translators for bringing Rumi's words to life. I highly recommend this book to those in need of a little spiritual guidance and enlightenment in their lives.
But why haven't I heard or seen any of his works before?
I picked this beautifully curated book at random and I was immediately intrigued. His words transported me to this world of tranquillity, full of love and passion. Needless to say, I instantly fell in love with Rumi's words. I appreciated the religious aspects of it - although I am not a Sufi Muslim myself, the author and I both share the same faith. Rumi has a relationship with God that any person can covet. It's profoundly moving.
Sometimes it's difficult to envision him as a Muslim and as someone who lived nearly a thousand years ago due to the many references to being drunk (might be metaphorical? I don't have an issue with it, just wanted to point it out) and that his writing seemed contemporary. There's a magical, mystical twist to it as well, similar to his beliefs.
Although his poems are intimate, in my perspective, Rumi remains a mysterious fellow. If only I could read his works in the original language. All in all, kudos to the translators for bringing Rumi's words to life. I highly recommend this book to those in need of a little spiritual guidance and enlightenment in their lives.
April 11, 2022
This is not the usual and common poetry by Rumi translated to English. Brad and Maryam did their best to scholarly translate and edit the poems in a sense that keeps the real spirit of his poetry.
Noteworthy is their approach in finding “ a middle way between academic loyalty and wildly inventive freedom, a medium that might articulate both the personal poems of aching human love … and those of divine love”.
One of the best English translations of Rumi’s poetry I have read so far…
“Love came to my side and put a cup in my hand,
And thousands of me became the slaves of love.
My soul and love tell each other thousands of secrets,
Secrets that cannot be expressed in rhyming words.”
“From all the arrows, my heart is like a porcupine's
back.
If love had a heart, your love would have mercy on me.
I'm letting my heart go. Whatever it wants, so be it.
Slap your hand on my mouth if I ever speak of it again.
I'm the drunken slave of the wine bearer of love.
Sleeping in a corner, drunk, I'm free from good
and evil.
If sorrow comes, I say, "The one who was in pain
just left.
Get yourself to the bazaar and buy a rabab for me
to play."”
Noteworthy is their approach in finding “ a middle way between academic loyalty and wildly inventive freedom, a medium that might articulate both the personal poems of aching human love … and those of divine love”.
One of the best English translations of Rumi’s poetry I have read so far…
“Love came to my side and put a cup in my hand,
And thousands of me became the slaves of love.
My soul and love tell each other thousands of secrets,
Secrets that cannot be expressed in rhyming words.”
“From all the arrows, my heart is like a porcupine's
back.
If love had a heart, your love would have mercy on me.
I'm letting my heart go. Whatever it wants, so be it.
Slap your hand on my mouth if I ever speak of it again.
I'm the drunken slave of the wine bearer of love.
Sleeping in a corner, drunk, I'm free from good
and evil.
If sorrow comes, I say, "The one who was in pain
just left.
Get yourself to the bazaar and buy a rabab for me
to play."”
Read
April 10, 2023Rumi's Unseen Poems is a gorgeous collection of gems hitherto
untranslated into English. Somewhat astonishingly, there are still thousands of Rumi's poems untranslated. This collection offers layered insights into the soul, love, relationships, and much more. A must have for Rumi devotees and a fine introduction for neophytes.
Here's a favorite (among many).
Last night, without you, was dark and hopeless.
Our candles and whirling and gatherings had no flavor.
I was tortured all night, though I had committed no crime.
My heart was in prison with no one to pay the ransom.
The world feels safe in your embrace.
Even the moon, not seeing your face, grows anxious.
Our pride has become like a curtain covering you.
Only the humble are held in your embrace.
My modest heart is held in the palm of your hand,
Like quicksilver, quivering in your palm.
untranslated into English. Somewhat astonishingly, there are still thousands of Rumi's poems untranslated. This collection offers layered insights into the soul, love, relationships, and much more. A must have for Rumi devotees and a fine introduction for neophytes.
Here's a favorite (among many).
Last night, without you, was dark and hopeless.
Our candles and whirling and gatherings had no flavor.
I was tortured all night, though I had committed no crime.
My heart was in prison with no one to pay the ransom.
The world feels safe in your embrace.
Even the moon, not seeing your face, grows anxious.
Our pride has become like a curtain covering you.
Only the humble are held in your embrace.
My modest heart is held in the palm of your hand,
Like quicksilver, quivering in your palm.
January 8, 2023
Went in with low expectations, found some of the most romantic poetry I've read.
May 1, 2023
i cannot believe i've been sleeping on islamic poetry my whole life this made me want to weep
February 11, 2020
'You're at peace when you don't need more or less, When you don't need to be a king or a saint, When you're free from the sorrows of the world, When you're free from the tiniest atom of himself'.
The 13rd century Sufi mystic Rumi is enjoying an outstanding popularity nowadays. During those times of 'me-time', and other selfish excuses we invent to avoid for fully assuming human relationships, some might find refuge in its poetry. Or looking for excuses. Which is wrong.
Rumi is writing about being one and free, but only for joining the togetherness thereafter. Isolation is not for him an act of singular and lonely destiny, but an intermediate stage during which the spirit is getting accustomed with both happiness and sorrow, ackowledge them just to feel further liberated from them.
Many of his poems are easily categorized in the 'Love' shelf, but for me it often refer to a much bigger and stable one, aiming at the spiritual meeting between creature and Creator. More than once, his love poems reminded me of the hidden beauty of Shir Ha'Shirim (The Song of Songs).
Those are my fresh thoughts on Rumi after going more than once through the recently Unseen poems published by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group last autumn. There is no surprise that many of Rumi published poems are in fact translations of translations which seems to happen often in the case of Persian poetry. I personally own an old edition of Shahnameh by Ferdowsi which I discovered recently was in fact translated from a French edition. The Rumi poems collected in this edition are not only first time published for the English-speaking public but translated from the original Persian by Brad Gooch and Maryam Mortaz.
We need more poetry, more insights and guidance through spiritual life, and less selfishness and mean excuses for a 'safe' life of emotional isolationism. Read correctly, with an open heart Rumi can offer a remedy.
Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review
The 13rd century Sufi mystic Rumi is enjoying an outstanding popularity nowadays. During those times of 'me-time', and other selfish excuses we invent to avoid for fully assuming human relationships, some might find refuge in its poetry. Or looking for excuses. Which is wrong.
Rumi is writing about being one and free, but only for joining the togetherness thereafter. Isolation is not for him an act of singular and lonely destiny, but an intermediate stage during which the spirit is getting accustomed with both happiness and sorrow, ackowledge them just to feel further liberated from them.
Many of his poems are easily categorized in the 'Love' shelf, but for me it often refer to a much bigger and stable one, aiming at the spiritual meeting between creature and Creator. More than once, his love poems reminded me of the hidden beauty of Shir Ha'Shirim (The Song of Songs).
Those are my fresh thoughts on Rumi after going more than once through the recently Unseen poems published by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group last autumn. There is no surprise that many of Rumi published poems are in fact translations of translations which seems to happen often in the case of Persian poetry. I personally own an old edition of Shahnameh by Ferdowsi which I discovered recently was in fact translated from a French edition. The Rumi poems collected in this edition are not only first time published for the English-speaking public but translated from the original Persian by Brad Gooch and Maryam Mortaz.
We need more poetry, more insights and guidance through spiritual life, and less selfishness and mean excuses for a 'safe' life of emotional isolationism. Read correctly, with an open heart Rumi can offer a remedy.
Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review
February 19, 2020
This is FIVE-STAR writing/poetry - and the first 100 pages just heavenly. The second hundred, some gems for sure, but repetitive at that point.
If you are interested in 200 pages of Rumi talking about being drunk in love and about the moon - and raging a bit AGAINST knowledge (in sake of just love), then this poetry is for you.
But again, the first 100 pages/poems worthy of not five stars, but 10. And the second hundred pages, almost the same, but not nearly as much - enough that I was sorta “alright already” - hence the three stars.
But Rumi, he’s ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ALLL THE WAY.
I’ll go back and change it to four ;).
If you are interested in 200 pages of Rumi talking about being drunk in love and about the moon - and raging a bit AGAINST knowledge (in sake of just love), then this poetry is for you.
But again, the first 100 pages/poems worthy of not five stars, but 10. And the second hundred pages, almost the same, but not nearly as much - enough that I was sorta “alright already” - hence the three stars.
But Rumi, he’s ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ALLL THE WAY.
I’ll go back and change it to four ;).
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews