RŪMĪ: PAST AND PRESENT, EAST AND WEST

The Life, Teaching and Poetry of Jālāl al-Dīn Rūmī

Franklin D. Lewis

Setting a benchmark in Rūmī studies, this award winning work examines the background, the legacy, and the continuing significance of this thirteenth century mystic, who is today the best-selling poet in the United States, by drawing on a vast array of sources, from writings of the poet himself to the latest scholarly literature. In addition to offering fresh perspectives on the philosophical and spiritual context in which Rūmī was writing, and providing in-depth analysis of his teachings, Lewis pays particular attention to why Rūmī continues to enjoy such a huge following in the West. Also featured in this ground-breaking study are new translations of over fifty of Rūmī’s poems, and never before seen prose, together with extensive commentaries and a full annotated bibliography of works by and about Rūmī. Solid scholarship, combined with an articulate and highly readable style, makes this book accessible not merely to specialists but to the general reading public This book can rightly be called the definitive work on Rūmī and it should be on the bookshelf of anyone drawn to Rūmī.