Rumi's Little Book of Love and Laughter: Teaching Stories and Fables

Coleman Barks

Hampton Roads Publishing, Oct 1, 2016 - Religion - 240 pages

Rowdy, ecstatic, and sometimes stern, these teaching stories and fables reveal new and very human properties in Rumi's vision. Included here are the notorious “Latin parts” that Reynold Nicholson felt were too unseemly to appear in English in his 1920s translation. For Rumi, anything that human beings do—however compulsive—affords a glimpse into the inner life.

Here are more than 40 fables or teaching stories that deal with love, laughter, death, betrayal, and the soul. The stories are exuberant, earthy, and bursting with vitality—much like a painting by Hieronymus Bosch or Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. The characters are guilty, lecherous, tricky, ribald, and finally possessors of opened souls.

Barks writes: "These teaching stories are a kind of scrimshaw—intricately carved, busy figures, confused and threatening, and weirdly funny.

This is an entertaining collection from one of the greatest spiritual poets of all time, rendered by his most popular translator.

“The minute I heard my first love story, I started looking for you, not knowing how blind that was. Lovers don't finally meet somewhere. They're in each other all along.”--Rumi

Contents

• Nasuh: 1
• Images of the Unseen: 9
• Two Ways of Running: 13
• In Cairo Dreaming of Baghdad: 19
• Dying Laughing: 29
• Human Honesty: 31
• Dalqaks Message: 35
• Farajs Wedding Night: 39
• Bestami: 47
• EyesShut Facing EyesRolling Around: 51
• The Visions of Daquqi: 59
• Sexual Urgency What a Womans Laughter Can Do and the Nature of True Virility: 65
• The Court Poet: 77
• Spiritual Seniority: 83
• The Law Student and the Shroud Maker: 85
• The Trick of Hiding in a Box: 89
• Berouged Old Ladies: 101
• Ayaz and the Kings Pearl: 105
• A Man and a Woman Arguing: 111
• Muhammed and the Huge Eater: 117
• The Pear Tree: 127
• Two Ways of Coming Down a Mountain: 131
• Spilling the Rose Oil: 135
• When a Madman Smiles at You: 139
• A Song About a Donkey: 141
• Childhood Friends: 145
• Chinese Art and Greek Art: 151
• Tattooing in Qazwin: 155
• A Subtle Theological Point: 159
• A OneGrain Ant: 163
• The Private Banquet: 165
• Cry Out in Your Weakness: 169
• Flowing Gifts: 173
• A Goat Kneels: 177
• Three Creatures: 179
• The Ocean Duck: 181
• An Early Morning Eye: 185
• Collect the Pieces: 187
• Following the Sunset: 189
• Solomon and Sheba: 191
• In Between Stories: 195
• The Worms Waking: 199
• Put This Design in Your Carpet: 201
• Lovers Want Each Other Completely Naked: 203
• A House With Only One Door: 209
• The Importance of Gourdcrafting: 213
• Chickpea to Cook: 217
• A Presence Like Rain: 219
• Notes: 221
• Backflap: 227
• Backcover: 228

About the author

Coleman Barks is an American poet, a former faculty member at the University of Georgia, and a renowned interpreter of Rumi and other mystic poets. He makes frequent international appearances and is well-known throughout the Middle East. His work has contributed to the creation of a strong Rumi following in the English-speaking world and the dissemination of Sufi ideas across many cultural boundaries. Barks received an honorary doctorate from Tehran University in 2006. He is the author of many books and lives in Athens, Georgia.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Rumi's Little Book of Love and Laughter: Teaching Stories and Fables
• Author: Coleman Barks
• Publisher: Hampton Roads Publishing, 2016
• ISBN: 161283373X, 9781612833736
• Length: 240 pages
• Subjects: Fiction / Religious; Religion / Inspirational