Open Secret: Versions of Rumi

A lovely collection of versions of Rumi translated by the great linguistic scholar John Moyne and Coleman Barks. They are quatrains and odes and they attest to the divine. My absolute favourite has to be Ode 388: I would love to kiss you. The price of kissing is your life. Now my love is running toward my life shouting, What a bargain, let's buy it. but for poets, Ode 1315 has to run a close second: We've given up making... Read Full Review

This is an amazing book of poetry, the words just dance off the page. this is a good place to start if you're interested in the poetry of Rumi.The translations are well done and don't sacrifice the emotional content of the poetry to fit the words. Give yourself or someone else a wonderful experience and read this book. You'll be very happy that you did.

The open secret, available to all but few listen. That is the feeling you get when you let these wonderful writings flow over and through you.Some short, some longer, each writing is a treasure. The more you read (or listen if you've been fortunate to get the audio condensed version from this work) the deeper each verse becomes. I've owned the printed copy for years and every read brings new wonders and old friends.The cream... Read Full Review

Unlike many of his translations of Rumi, Open Secrets credits the Persian scholar, John Moyne, as a co-author. The notes credit A. J. Arberry and R. A. Nicholson as well. Coleman Barks forms the translations in English poetry. This collection is of quatrains and odes.In this collection fewer of the poems use specifically Sufi imagery than in some collections; e.g. "Late, by myself, in the boat of myself" could as easily... Read Full Review

THE VERSIONS OF RUMI WAS AN EXCEPTIONAL BOOK. THE POEMS WERE NOT ONLY BEAUTIFUL, BUT REALLY TOUCHED YOU WERE IT COUNTS....THE HEART. THE POETS WERE REALLY COMPASSIONATE; AND SINCE THE POEMS WERE ACTUALLY WRITTEN THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO, THEY WERE REFINED AND REVISED VERY WELL. I REALLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO ANY READER, AND EVEN THOSE WHO JUST WANT TO LISTEN.