The bridge in the title is a reference to the Khajou Bridge in Isphahan, Iran, which Barks visited with Robert Bly in May of 2006-a trip that in many ways prompted this book.

In Rumi: Bridge to the Soul, Coleman Barks-who holds an honorary doctorate in Persian language and literature by the University of Tehran for his decades-long translations of Rumi-has collected and translated ninety new poems, most of them never published before in any form. Book Synopsis Originally released in 2007, Year of Rumi, to coincide with the poets 800th birthday, by the pre-eminent Rumi poet Coleman Barks. The match between Rumi's sublime poetry and Coleman Barks's poetic art are unequaled, and here this artistic union is raised to new heights.About the Book The author of the bestselling The Essential Rumi returns with a new collection of Rumi poems, most of them never before published, to commemorate the great poets 800th birthday. These fresh, original translations magnificently convey Rumi's insights into the human heart and its longings with his signature passion and daring, focusing on the ecstatic experience of the inseparability of human and divine love. No one knows what makes the soul wake up so happy! Maybe a dawn breeze has blown the veil from the face of God.

Above all else, Rumi's poetry exposes us to the delight that comes from being fully alive, urging us always to put aside our fears and take the risk of discovering our core self: For Rumi, soul and body and emotion are not separate but are rather part of the great mystery of mortal life, a riddle whose solution is love. These poems express our deepest yearning for the transcendent connection with the source of the divine: there are passionate outbursts about the torment of longing for the beloved and the sweet delight that comes from union stories of sexual adventures and of loss poems of love and fury, sadness and joy and quiet truths about the beauty and variety of human emotion. While Barks's stamp on this collection is clear, it is Rumi's voice that leaps off these pages with a rapturous power that leaves readers breathless. In this volume readers will encounter the essence of Sufism's insights into the experience of divine love, wisdom, and the nature of both humanity and God. Barks's translations capture the inward exploration and intensity that characterize Rumi's poetry, making this unique voice of mysticism and desire contemporary while remaining true to the original poems. Rumi's masterpieces have inspired countless people throughout the centuries, and Coleman Barks's exquisite renderings of the thirteenth-century Persian mystic are widely considered the definitive versions for our time.

The Soul of Rumi by Rumi