Spiritual Verses

Introduction by Alan Williams
Translated by Alan Williams
Notes by Alan Williams
$17.00 US
Penguin Adult HC/TR | Penguin Classics
48 per carton
On sale Aug 28, 2007 | 978-0-14-044791-0
Sales rights: US, Canada, Open Mkt
The spiritual masterpiece of the Persian Sufi tradition in a brilliant new translation

The longest single-authored "mystical" poem ever written, the Masnavi-ye Ma'navi, or "spiritual couplets," is the masterpiece of the Persian Sufi tradition. Its author, Jalaloddin Rumi, was a poet and mystic of the highest attainment, but he was first and foremost a spiritual teacher, and his Masnavi is a ladder to the spiritual world, leading the reader to the ultimate goal of the Sufi path-union with God. Alan Williams's translation into blank verse beautifully conveys the poetry of the original Persian couplets, while his introduction discusses how the modern reader might approach Rumi's writing.

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The spiritual masterpiece of the Persian Sufi tradition in a brilliant new translation

The longest single-authored "mystical" poem ever written, the Masnavi-ye Ma'navi, or "spiritual couplets," is the masterpiece of the Persian Sufi tradition. Its author, Jalaloddin Rumi, was a poet and mystic of the highest attainment, but he was first and foremost a spiritual teacher, and his Masnavi is a ladder to the spiritual world, leading the reader to the ultimate goal of the Sufi path-union with God. Alan Williams's translation into blank verse beautifully conveys the poetry of the original Persian couplets, while his introduction discusses how the modern reader might approach Rumi's writing.