Description

Book Synopsis

Rowdy, ecstatic, and sometimes stern, these teaching stories and fables reveal new and very human properties in Rumi''s vision. Included here are the notorious "Latin parts" that Reynold Nicholson felt were too unseemly to appear in English in his 1920s translation. For Rumi, anything that human beings do--however compulsive--affords a glimpse into the inner life.

Here are more than 40 fables or teaching stories that deal with love, laughter, death, betrayal, and the soul. The stories are exuberant, earthy, and bursting with vitality--much like a painting by Hieronymus Bosch or Chaucer''s Canterbury Tales. The characters are guilty, lecherous, tricky, ribald, and finally possessors of opened souls.

Barks writes: "These teaching stories are a kind of scrimshaw--intricately carved, busy figures, confused and threatening, and weirdly funny.

This is an entertaining collection from one of the greatest spiritual poets of all time, rendered by his most popular translator.

"The minute I heard my first love story, I started looking for you, not knowing how blind that was. Lovers don''t finally meet somewhere. They''re in each other all along."--Rumi

Rumi'S Little Book of Love and Laughter: Teaching

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    A Paperback / softback by Coleman Barks

    £11.69

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    RRP £12.99 – you save £1.30 (10%)

    Order before 4pm today for delivery by Sat 5 Sep 2026.

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      Book details

      Publisher Hampton Roads Publishing Co
      Published 31 October 2016
      ISBN-13 9781571747617
      978-1571747617
      ISBN-10 1571747613
      Also in:
      Islamic groups: Sufis Mysticism Personal religious testimony and popular inspirational works

      Description

      Book Synopsis

      Rowdy, ecstatic, and sometimes stern, these teaching stories and fables reveal new and very human properties in Rumi''s vision. Included here are the notorious "Latin parts" that Reynold Nicholson felt were too unseemly to appear in English in his 1920s translation. For Rumi, anything that human beings do--however compulsive--affords a glimpse into the inner life.

      Here are more than 40 fables or teaching stories that deal with love, laughter, death, betrayal, and the soul. The stories are exuberant, earthy, and bursting with vitality--much like a painting by Hieronymus Bosch or Chaucer''s Canterbury Tales. The characters are guilty, lecherous, tricky, ribald, and finally possessors of opened souls.

      Barks writes: "These teaching stories are a kind of scrimshaw--intricately carved, busy figures, confused and threatening, and weirdly funny.

      This is an entertaining collection from one of the greatest spiritual poets of all time, rendered by his most popular translator.

      "The minute I heard my first love story, I started looking for you, not knowing how blind that was. Lovers don''t finally meet somewhere. They''re in each other all along."--Rumi

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