Rumi
by Rumi (Jalāl ad-Dīn Muḥammad Balkhī), Coleman Barks · first published 1991
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Landmark translations of the Sufi poet/mystic Rumi from the acclaimed interpreter of the Tao Te Ching.Jonathan Star has assembled selections of Rumi's verse in a treasury that spans the poet's life and includes his most celebrated and poignant work. It is an enchanting volume of classic Eastern thought that creates an exhilarating experience for all readers.
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Of renderings instead of actual translations? One of the most notorious examples is Coleman Barks’ "translations" of Rumi that Shambhala put out. Barks does not actually know Persian, and his versions of Rumi are based on existing English translations along with his own personal inspirations.
on “Her Mind Freed: The inspired utterances of Buddhist nuns” ↗Coleman Barks at least has a sense of rhyme, but when it comes to the original Rumi, it is indeed very different. It’s hard to find good (accurate) Rumi translations,
on “Things JRR Tolkien has never said, done, written or had anything to do with” ↗…many religions emerged from it, and were subsequently built on top of those foundations. I don't want to promote a specific religious book, but you could look into modern interpretations of past work. Rumi's poetry is built atop Sufism, atop Islam, which is atop the Abrahamic religions. Coleman Barks does the Rumi translations that many quote, but in doing so he morphed it to something no longer Rumi. If…
on “Ask HN: Books for Reevaluation of Life” ↗Rumi for sure. Coleman Barks' translation is the most popular, but it's also wildly inaccurate. Many either love it or are dismissive of it, but I consider it a form of poetry on its own. e.g. Barks replaces…
on “Ask HN: Can you recommend some poetry?” ↗…proficient in Indonesian, you might look into similar huge markets. Does Brazilian Portuguese make sense? Arabic is widely spoken too. Speaking of middle eastern languages, Coleman Barks's translation of Rumi is one of the most popular in the world. It's also heavily botched. As a Muslim, I know that it doesn't even really make sense in context even though I speak no Persian. But Barks is an excellent poet…
on “Ask HN: How do you get users (and keep them)?” ↗