I’ve been picking my way through The Forbidden Rumi for months, one or two poems before bed every few days. Finally I got so close to the end I had a Rumi binge and read the remaining two dozen or so poems to finish the book. The translation was done by Nevit O. Ergin, a Turkish born surgeon and original translator into English of all of Rumi’s 44,829 poems. Ergin has studied Sufism and Rumi since 1955. The Frobidden Rumi completes is translations of all things Rumi.
According to the book’s introduction, this last volume of Rumi’s poetry has always posed a bit of a problem. Not only do many of the poems break the rules of meter and phrasing but the content is also troublesome. Rumi frequently talks of being drunk and even though it is a divine drunkenness – drunk on God – drunk is still bad. In other poems Rumi remarks on the stupidity and prejudice of his neighbors and town that led to the murder of his mentor and beloved friend Shams. In still other poems he declares love is religion’s only precept, encourages people to be heretics in order to find the real truth of Islam, and declares Jews, Christians, Muslims and Zoroastrians are equal when dissolved into God.
I enjoyed the book but not as much as I have enjoyed other books of Rumi poems. I don’t know if it is the translator (the other books I’ve read have all been done by Coleman Barks who is a fantastic poet and translator) or if it is the poems themselves. Even so, there is plenty to love here though I wouldn’t recommend this be your first book of Rumi poetry if you have never read him before.
Here are two of the many wonderful poems in the collection to give you a little taste.
Choose Love
Because of the beloved
my heart is happy,
my soul illuminated.
From the beloved’s greenery
hundreds of blessed rivers
are flowing to the rose gardens.
In order to enter into your rose garden,
the soul makes peace with the thorns.
Choose love. Choose love.
Without this beautiful love,
life is nothing but a burden.
The Journey Starts Here
Don’t go off sightseeing.
The real journey is right here.
The great excursion starts
from exactly where you are.
You are the world.
You have everything you need.
You are the secret.
You are the wide opened.
Don’t look for the remedy for your troubles
outside yourself.
You are the medicine.
You are the cure for your own sorrow.
Those poems are wonderful. As a matter of fact, I think I need to copy The Journey Starts Here in my journal. Thank you for sharing these Stefanie!
Oh Stefanie, I know what you mean by translation- translating Rumi from Turkish to English is very difficult… I read his poems first in Turkish, then in English and I’m sad to say that it makes a difference… But still, I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed the poems, reading Rumi is such a joy!
And those are some great poems you selected.
Iliana, glad you enjoyed the poems!
Lua, I imagine translating Rumi is very hard since English has very different rhythms but it speaks to Rumi’s brilliance that in spite of it all he is still wonderful! Have you read Hafiz? I’ve only read a little but my husband has read quite a lot and loves his poetry.
Bookman is reading the Hafiz?
How wonderful is that?
My mother is fascinated by poetry and when I was a child, she used to read Rumi, Hafiz and some other poets to me before bed time… I still read them from time to time before I go to sleep
Yup. We even have a calendar on our kitchen wall with Hafiz poems on it. I think I will probably be reading him soon. That is so cool that your mom read poetry to you when you were a child!
I’ve been a long-time reader of Rumi. I’ve read almost everything but Barks’ early, cheap “The Essential Rumi” – I’ve read it at least 20 times already!
I like the sounds of these – good post!
I had never heard of Rumi before I encountered him through your blog – now I am a convert! Beautiful poems, Stefanie. I rather like the idea of Rumi thrashing a bit at the bonds of saintly serenity, but it probably doesn’t make for such great poems.
Lovely, lovely. I want to copy and paste both of these into my own blog. I love them.
Colleen, yay for another Rumi reader! I love that Barks book.
Bookjourney, thanks!
Litlove, making one Rumi convert at a time
Daphne, copy away. I bet you and Terri would both like Rumi and I’ll bet you can find him at the library
It does sounds like translating these poems would be a bit of a challenge, though considering how much time Ergin has spent working with Rumi’s poetry he must be up to the task. Lovely poems you shared!
Danielle, glad you enjoyed the poems. Yes, Ergin has done a good job considering the difficulty of translation. Makes me wish I could read them in the original though.
Hi Stefanie! Do you have the poem wich starts on the 91 page from The Forbidden Rumi? I think it is a three-page poem. I really want to read this poem but i can’t find it in the internet.
Thank you so much!
Love,
Raji