Written from the ninth to the twentieth century, these poems represent the peak of Islamic Mystical writing, from Rabia Basri to Mian Mohammad Baksh. Reflecting both private devotional love and the attempt to attain union with God and become absorbed into the Divine, many poems in this edition are imbued with the symbols and metaphors that develop many of the central ideas of Sufism: the Lover, the Beloved, the Wine, and the Tavern; while others are more personal and echo the poet's battle to leave earthly love behind. These translations capture the passion of the original poetry and are accompanied by an introduction on Sufism and the common themes apparent in the works. This edition also includes suggested further reading.

Begun in 1262 AD, Masnavi-ye Ma ‘navi, or ‘spiritual couplets', is thought to be the longest single-authored ‘mystical’ poem ever written. As the spiritual masterpiece of the Persian Sufi tradition, it teaches how to progress to the ultimate goal of the Sufi path - union with God. Jalaloddin Rumi was a poet and a mystic, but he was first a teacher; in these verses he draws the reader into the complexities of human love and separation and explains the path to divine love through the elimination of self-regard and worldly desires. Drawing on diverse sources from bawdy tales and fables to stories of the prophet Mohammed, these verses are brief in expression yet copious in meaning.

A collection of poems by and about homosexuals includes authors, such as Sappho, Walter Whitman, W.H. Auden, and Allen Ginsberg

Here, Jayne L. Warner has created a unique biographical tapestry that illuminates not only the life of one of Turkey's leading literary and cultural authorities, but also the emergence of a republic in his native country, and sheds new light on the history of one of the world's great cities. Sumptuously illustrated throughout with evocative period pictures of Istanbul, Turkish Nomad tells the extraordinary life story of this poet, thinker, and diplomat. As a young boy, Halman surveyed the last vestiges of the Ottoman Empire, walked through the ruins of Byzantium, and grew up in the modern nation created by the charismatic Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Talat S. Halman would go on to serve the republic as its first minister of culture. The more than four decades Halman lived primarily in the United States are not overlooked but are used to discuss how his ideas developed as he taught at leading unversities-Princeton, Columbia, New York University-and introduced Americans to Turkish literature and culture through his translations and public lectures. We In the Turkish Nomad we follow the literary, scholastic, and journalistic journey of a restless writer, who might best be described by the title of one of his books, The Turkish Muse, his 2006 collection of literary reviews tracing the development of Turkish literature during the Turkish Republic.

From Orhon inscriptions to Orhan Pamuk, the story of Turkish literature from the eighth century A.D. to the present day is rich and complex, full of firm traditions and daring transformations. Spanning a wide geographic range from Outer Mongolia and the environs of China through the Middle East all the way to Europe, the history of Turkish literature embraces a multitude of traditions and influences. All have left their imprint on the distinctive amalgam that is uniquely Turkish. Always receptive to the nurturing values, aesthetic tastes, and literary penchants of diverse civilizations, Turkish culture succeeded in evolving a sui generis personality. It clung to its own established traits, yet it was flexible enough to welcome innovations—and even revolutionary change. A Millennium of Turkish Literature tells the story of how literature evolved and grew in stature on the Turkish mainland over the course of a thousand years. The book features numerous poems and extracts in fluid translations by Halman and others. This volume provides a concise and captivating introduction to Turkish literature and, with selections from its extensive “Suggested Reading” section, serves as an invaluable guide to Turkish literature for course adoption.

The popularity of Yunus Emre, who is often referred to as the Turkish national poet, has endured for six centuries. Yunus is the most important representative of early Turkish mysticism; he can be considered the founder of Alevi-Bektasi literature, and his influence on later tekke poetry was enormous. His ilahis (hymns) have played an important role in sufi ceremonies. Grace Martin Smith's translation of Yunus's poetry will acquaint the non-Turkish reader with the art and thinking of one of Turkey's most significant poets and will be helpful to students of both modern and Ottoman Turkish and to all those interested in Islamic poetry and piety.