RUMI:THE POET, THE MYSTIC, THE MUSLIM

This seminar is a close encounter with the towering figure of Persian mystical poet Maulana Jalal al-Din Rumi and his monumental masterpiece, The Masnavi.  Rumi (1207-1273) is a seminal figure in Persian poetry and Islamic mysticism.  His seminal chef-d’oeuvre Masnavi is the centerpiece of his poetic legacy.  He has been widely read and deeply loved by generations of Muslim and non-Muslim readers.  His recent popularity in North America amounts to a renaissance of his poetry in a fertile ground. The Masnavi (1258-1273) consists of six books of poetry, 25000 verses or 5000 lines.  It is one of the most significant mystical dramas performed in Persian poetry.  A close reading of this classical text is a singular inroad into the variegated landscape of Persian poetry and Islamic mysticism.  The course consists of regular readings of the original Persian text alongside its most recent English translation.  We will then locate the Masnavi within the larger historical and literary context of its time and provenance.