Product Description

Why is a 700-year-old mystic named Jelaluddin Rumi the best-selling poet in America? The answer to that question is simple: Coleman Barks.

From his immensely popular translation of Rumi to his featured appearances on public television, this award-winning poet has almost single-handedly brought ecstatic Sufi poetry into the mainstream of English-language readers. On I Want Burning, listeners will join Barks in an inspired evening featuring three literary legends of the 14th century Middle East: Jelaluddin Rumi, Hafiz (all-time favorite poet of the Persian world), and Lalla, the astonishing Kashmiri woman poet, singer, and dancer.

Includes more than 50 poems, accompanied by vocals, pan flute, harmonium bells, and hand drums.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #185304 in Books
• Published on: 2001-04
• Format: Unabridged
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Audio CD

From AudioFile
A translator of Rumi, Hafiz, and Lalla brings their words to life in an electric performance at a small club. The room is filled with awe for these thirteen- and fourteenth-century poets as the breathy, in-your-face narrator, Coleman Barks, holds his audience's attention in a death grip for the entire 74 minutes. The accompanying exotic music is as rough and interesting as the author's blue-collar voice--music so erotic and intrusive that for most listeners it will be either a fascinating listening focus or a huge distraction. The editor's sparse introductions are marvelously unpretentious. He seems to respect the listener's openness to the poems, rather than trying too hard to orchestrate how they are comprehended. T.W. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

About the Author
Coleman Barks is one of the most popular translators of Rumi in the English language. He was a featured poet on Bill Moyers' public television special "Love's Confusing Joy" and collaborates frequently in stage production of Sufi poetry, music, and dance. He has translated and published more than fifteen collections of cstatic Sufi poetry, incluidng The Illuminated Rumi and The Essential Rumi.

Customer Reviews

A Turning Night Of Stars
Coleman Barks has captured the essence of Rumi with his captivating, mysterious southern voice giving the entire cd a mystical quality unmatched by anyone I have heard reading poetry. Anyone who wants to drink from the fountain of Rumi and find something different each time you pour a cup of timeless words, then you must have this.

Beautiful Rumi
This is the best Rumi CD I have ever heard. There is exquisite depth of feeling in the performance.

god's voice
There is something surreal yet very earthy about listening to Barks read his translations of this mystical work. The simple beauty in these poems set to music or chanting in some of the verses is soul stirring.