When I first became aware of Rumi's poetry, I was sure that it was about earthly love between humans here on earth. As I absorbed it more completely, I came to realize that all of his poetry, even his love poetry (which is very suitable for passing on to a loved one) is communicating with God.

Coleman Barks has done an amazing job of giving Rumi's work an accessable voice. He has truly given a gift for which we owe a huge debt of gratitude. Rumi provides the music, Coleman's translations provide the instruments.

Michael Green was obviously inspired by his collaborators to reach his own level of genius in the illustrations. I love the way he combines images from different cultures, different times, and from different disciplines both scientific and artistic! A desert oasis with a photo shot by the Hubble Space Telescope for the sky... The juxtaposition of fractal geometry with images from cultural art... I would gladly hang any of the original art from this book on the walls of my living room.

This book has been and continues to be my favorite gift to people who "get it," and I've probably handed out over 20 copies in the last two years. Do yourself a favor and buy it. I bet you'll be back for more copies.


Less than illuminating   February 7, 2000
 51 out of 59 found this review helpful

Coleman Barks has a way with words, which for the past few decades he's put to use casting the poems of 13th-century mystic Jalaluddin Rumi into contemporary language. Though considered one of the greatest poets the world has ever seen, Rumi was relatively unknown in the West until a recent surge in popularity due in no small part to Barks's efforts. THE ILLUMINATED RUMI presents readers with a pretty package indeed: deep thoughts, stirred emotions and illustrations galore. Yet while this would do most poets proud, it's doubtful Rumi would feel that way about his treatment at Barks's hands, if only because Barks speaks not a word of Persian, the language in which Rumi wrote. Barks freely admits he relied entirely on academic translations to concoct his popularized renderings. This would be less of a handicap were Rumi merely trying to entertain or to convey feelings, moods and subjective impressions. But as Barks himself points out, Rumi was a Sufi; and Sufis maintain that, far from being the emotional outpourings appearance might suggest, their poems are actually precise and carefully constructed technical instruments designed to have very specific effects on the reader under the right circumstances. These effects, which depend heavily upon the language in which the poems were written (not to mention the specific audience they were written for, which is another matter entirely), are easily blunted by translation and other forms of tampering. Barks - in translating translations - would seem to be carrying this tampering a step further, despite his good intentions. The result, however aesthetically pleasing and emotionally evocative, is unlikely to be what Rumi had in mind - any more than the miming of a surgeon's hand-movements, however gracefully executed, is likely to heal the sick. Those interested in Rumi's still-relevant message would do better to read THE SUFIS by Idries Shah, THE LIFE & WORK OF JALALUDDIN RUMI by Afzal Iqbal, or E.H. Whinfield's TEACHINGS OF RUMI.


Very disappointing   March 17, 2000
 22 out of 36 found this review helpful

This book obscures the bold spirit of Rumi with a facade of emotionally dominated wishful thinking. Rumi should challenge, confront, transport and dare the reader - but this book merely panders. The text is liberally sprinkled with irrelevancies and contains several interpolations, mistranslations and historical inaccuracies, indeed, blatant balderdash in a couple of places. The poetry is generally well rendered but is a pre-digested selection of the "soft bits" - the bones have been filleted out. One also gets the vague impression that the English language has been "dumbed down". The illustrations are well executed, except for the snapshot at the end, which is both irrelevant and uninteresting. This piece of self-indulgent drivel spoils an otherwise good collection of artwork. In summary, the reader will end up knowing more about Coleman Barks than about Rumi.


Beautiful Book   October 3, 2001
 19 out of 20 found this review helpful

This is a truly beautiful book - the artwork laid out with the poems is masterful. Its far more than just a book of terrific poetry - which it is by the way! I don't know how these poems read in their original language and forgive me but in this case that doesn't even matter - the writings represented here are beautifully written. I'm so glad I bought it. Its a real joy to read and contemplate.


Illuminated Rumi   June 9, 2000
 16 out of 20 found this review helpful

I find some of the other rather pedantic reviews a bit troubling. I can, of course, appreciate that those who are more knowledgable about Sufism in general, and Rumi in specific, might be disappointed in what some obviously consider a lack of credentials on Mr. Barks part; however, as a relative newcomer to Sufism and the works of Rumi, I must say that this is an excellent place to start. No, perhaps the translation is not exact, but the combination of the magnificent illuminations, and the undeniable strengh and power of Rumi's poetry will move many newcomers like myself to do further, more in depth research and hopefully capture the true essence of the message. And isn't that the point? Start the neophytes slowly, so as not to overwhelm them; intrigue them, in order to guide them. Why else would I be here?