Michael Roe
asked:
Can I take the treasured poetry of Rumi, change the words and meanings, mangle the history and meaning of the sacred texts, and then get Shambhala to publish my book of "inspired Rumi poems?"
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The First Free Women: Poems of the Early Buddhist Nuns,
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Bhante Sujato
This analogy has a lot going for it, so long as we bear in mind that what has been changed is not just a revered work of poetry like Rumi, but canonical scripture. Imagine if someone threw out 95% of the content of the Koran and sold it as a "fresh re-imagining".
Katy
There was an article in the New Yorker a few years back that discussed how Coleman Banks removed all the Islam from Rumi’s poetry. I think there are many parallels here. No one has retracted Banks’ version to my knowledge. People appreciate his “translations.” Dharma teachers recite his translations in their talks. My remedy, use the problematic translation, as I have not looked for ones more accurate, but acknowledge the flaws. https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-...
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