In this episode Shabnum sits down with Unitarian Minister Barbara Merritt, who is working on a collection of poetry from Rumi's Masnavi. She explains the persistence of Sufi poetry in our world and how and why it has survived the test of time. Sufi poetry has transcended organized religions and is widely read and used - the imagery being relatable and the lessons being easy to remember. Rumi is the most widely read poet in America, and Barbara explains why Sufi poetry which originated in the Islamic tradition has since overcome barriers of religion and been adopted by so many across the world.
Host: Shabnum Gulati
Guest: Barbara Merritt
Art: Hanifa Abdul Hameed
Music: AnAkkiN on SoundCloud
Bibliography from the show:
Doorkeepers of the Heart, Versions of Rabi’a, Charles Upton , Threshold Books
The Conference of the Birds: Attar, translated by Sholeh Wolpe, w.w. Norton & Company
The Winged Energy of Delight: Selected Translations, (Poems from Europe, Asia and the Americas), Robert Bly, HarperCollins
Bulleh Shah, J.R. Puri & T. R Shangari, Radha Soami Satsang Beas
The Essential Rumi, Translations by Coleman Barks and John Moyne, HarperSanFrancisco
Mystical Poems of Rumi, Translator, A. J Arberry , University of Chicago Press
Hafez, Translations and Interpretations of the Ghazals, Geoffrey Squires, Miami University Press
The Poems of Hafez, translations by Reza Ordoubadian, Ibex Publishers