A review by tristy
The Essential Rumi by Rumi

3.0

I have never read a more playful, silly translation of Rumi's poetry. This has both good and bad aspects. On the plus side, Coleman Barks helped me understand the playfulness of Rumi's work. He helped rescue Rumi from the New Age calendars and greeting cards, showing me a side that is silly and wild and unattached to a heavy dogma. On the "negative" side, as many have said, you cannot really "translate" Rumi and where many translations do echo the beauty and flow of his original poetry, this particular one does not. It's actually more like reading an old comedy routine (if stand-up comics had existed in the 1200's!). So, not really my cup of tea, but still entertaining and interesting.