Tapestry

January 7, 2001

Mevlana Jelalludin Rumi

Mevlana Jelalludin Rumi was a 13th century poet, mystic, and scholar, but he's also - extraordinarily enough - perhaps the best selling poet in North America today.Rumi was born in Afganistan, but he lived much of his life in Turkey, and he wrote in Persian, the language of the most exquisite Sufi poetry.

Sufism is a form of Islamic mysticism that emphasises personal, ecstatic worship and union with Allah, God. The term Sufism comes from the Arabic suf, meaning "wool" and refers to the plain wool gowns worn by the early Sufis.

Sufism has several orders or schools. One of the most famous is the Mevlevi, or Whirling Dervishes, founded by Rumi himself. These Dervishes turn, dance, chant, and recite poetry, abandoing themselves to spiritual rapture. Rumi himself was a rather conventional religious scholar until he met another man, Shams of Tabriz, who sparked his spiritual awakening.

The good professor was transformed into mystical poet, who poured out his love and longing into thousands of lyrical verses that he sang while whirling in ecstatic dance.

It is remarkable that 7 centuries later another good, traditional professor has been transformed into a mystical poet this time in the heartland of the USA.

There is no doubt that the current popularity of this 13th century Sufi poet owes much to Coleman Barks.

Barks, one of the world's foremost translators of Rumi, was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He taught poetry and creative writing at the University of Georgia for 30 years.

His Rumi transl, including the bestselling The Essential Rumi (published by Harper Collins) and latest book, The Glance (published by Viking Penguin), have sold nearly half a million copies.

How it is that a largely unknown Muslim poet could produce such a dent in the popular culture of our time is due largely to Coleman Bark's loving translations, his appreciation for the Sufi path, and the spiritual hunger that it sparks in the minds of thousands of readers and listeners.

The performance on this edition of Tapestry - complete with readings, commentary and music, featuring Anwar Khurshid on Sitar and Ney Flute and Lowell Lyberger on Tabla & Tar - was part of a two day Festival of Rumi, which took place in Toronto in October of 1999, and was produced by Tina Petrova of No Strength But Yours Productions.