Rumi — You wake the dead to life

Who brings you to praise? Rumi’s great poem of praise to the “you” is to his great friend Shams, and through that friendship, to God.

Rumi was a 13th-century Muslim mystic and poet. He left behind a vast body of lyric poetry, metaphysical writings, lectures, and letters, which have influenced Persian, Urdu, and Turkish literature across the centuries.

Haleh Liza Gafori is a translator, vocalist, poet, and educator of Persian descent born in New York City. She has sung and translated the poetry of various Persian poets for well over a decade. She is the translator of GOLD (New York Review of Books / NYRB Classics 2022), translations of poems by Rumi, the 13th-century Muslim mystic and poet. Gafori has taught classes at Dartmouth University, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, Taos Poetry Festival, and the Omega Institute.

Find the transcript for this show at onbeing.org.

We’re pleased to offer Rumi’s poem, and invite you to connect with Poetry Unbound throughout this season.

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