[.ca] The Rumi Collection (ISBN 1590302516)

From Amazon.co.uk:
America's best-selling poet, 14th-century Sufi bard Rumi, would feel as overwhelmed as the rest of us when trying to pick out just the right collection of his translated masterpieces. To the rescue comes Kabir Helminski, a modern-day Sufi who has wrapped up a sampler of Rumi's inspirational poems. Let's not object that about half of the translations are from Kabir's own hand (in cooperation with his wife Camille) since they are excellent in their own respect and are accompanied by pieces from the likes of Robert Bly, Coleman Barks and Andrew Harvey. As editor, Helminski spans the range of Rumi's oeuvre, from the contemplative "Stay Close, My Heart", to the ecstatic "Drowned in God", to the whimsical "Animal Cookies". The magic of Rumi is his imagery. The journey to God comes cloaked in such guises as a tailor, bread, buttermilk, a surgeon, chickpeas, the edge of a roof, a beggar, a jar and an elephant's dream. Two of the tastiest treats are "Eating Poetry" and "Love is Like a Lawsuit". --Brian Bruya

The pleasurable pain of Love:
I greatly enjoy the poetry of Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi. His poems move me to action -- they put a smile on my face -- bring a sigh to my heart. I have at least half a dozen if not more books by the Mevlana. Of all these books, this is perhaps one of my favourites. Many recent authors have taken to reinterpreting the Sufi Master; but I feel that in those works, the original author's message becomes intermixed with the translators'. In this translation, the translator has attempted to keep close to the original intent and writing of the Mevlana, yet not getting into difficult English like earlier translations by R.A. Nicholson. The result, to me at least, is a more powerful spiritual punch and deeper tug at one's heart-strings. If you love the poetry of Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi, this is one book you should add to your collection, so at least you get a better feel of his voice.