Enjoyed reading this, although I’m not really into poetry, this one was definitely worth the time spent on it

Out of love for you, every strand of my hair turned into lines of poetry
~Rumi



Rumi: Unseen Poems translated by Brad Gooch and Maryam Mortaz is a modern and more accurate translation of the thirteenth-century Persian mystic. Many previous collections relied on old translations and translations that appealed more directly to the Western reader. This collection preserves the Islamic side of the poet. The moon plays a central role in the religion and the poetry of Rumi. There are poems where the moon is jealous of one's beauty, the splitting of the moon, and a rooftop observation signaling the beginning of Ramadan.

Didn't I tell you last night, "Your beautiful face is beyond compare."
The moon jealous of your beauty was torn in two

Wine, drinking, and drunkenness are repeated throughout the collection as a metaphor. Alcohol is to be avoided because of the way it influences people and their sensibility. Matching the strength of alcohol is love. Rumi compares the feeling of love to that of wine, something that lifts one well above the tediousness of the day. It is a powerful feeling.

My face is a hundred times brighter when I see your face.
My soul is a hundred times happier when your soul is near.

The direct translation of the original texts gives a definitive view of the poet. His other writing has been embraced, edited, and mistranslated to fit into the Western New Age movements.  Using unpublished poems, the translators attempt to preserve the real Rumi complete with his religious views.  The final result is simply fantastic poetry with an Islamic tone.  The poet, after all, was a life long scholar of Islam and the Koran. 

This collection will be printed in the small easy to carry around Everyman's Library Pocket Poet hardcover bindings that also look well on one's bookshelf. The Pocket Poets series runs nearly 120 different collections of poetry organized by poet or subject.



Available September 10, 2019

The leaving out of Islam seems a bit parochial to me although I always love reading Rumi. How can anyone seriously leave Islam out of Sufism? I have seen this tried before.

I was given a digital arc of this book by Netgalley.
I really enjoyed reading this book, some of the poems were very raw and left a strong impression, others not so much, but it always happens in poetry collections. I think the translators did a good job making Rumi's poetry available to others, and I'm thankfull to them for letting me read a copy of the work they did.

I have always loved to read Rumi and this collection of newly translated works was fantastic! Readers should not skip the forward in this book as it explains how this book came to be along with other information. I will be going back and reading this little gem to savor the words once more.

It is always a great time when you have new Rumi poems! I have been interested in his poetry for a while now- I gravitate to his love poem as they are sublime. I am still working through this book as the content is dense and I like to put my introspective hat on when reading prose from bygone philosophers.

I would recommend this to lovers for Rumi and people who enjoy poetry.

I love Rumi's work- madness, life, love, faith, wine, passion, relationships...he covers it all! These poems were new and beautifully translated. I loved the forward that describes how this book came to be. Deeply felt and very inspiring.

I did review online at Goodreads, but the form won't let me add the link.

Oh sweet joy! I have been a fan of Rumi for many years and I’m delighted to discover over 150 new poems that have never been seen before. As with all his work, I must take my time and read this slowly so I am only about a third of the way through as I am writing this review. I will take my time and savor each one as I hope you will too. Theses poems speak straight across the centuries to my heart.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Beatific, lovely, soothing...always as moving and fresh as my first experience with Rumi. The poetry of this influential author of long ago is a must to build the beauty of the human psyche.

Rumi (1207-1273) was trained in Sufism--a mystic tradition within Islam--and founded the Sufi order known to us as the Whirling Dervishes, who use dance and music as part of their spiritual devotion. Rumi's poetry has long been popular with contemporary Western audiences because of the way it combines the sacred and the sensual, describing divine love in rapturously human terms.

However, a number of Rumi's English translators over the past century were not speakers of Persian and they based their sometimes very free interpretations on earlier translations. With Western audiences in mind, translators also tended to tone down or leave out elements of Persian culture and of Islam in Rumi's work, and hundreds of the prolific poet's works were never made available to English speakers at all. In this new translation -- composed almost entirely of untranslated gems from Rumi's vast oeuvre -- Brad Gooch and Maryam Mortaz aim to achieve greater fidelity to the originals while still allowing Rumi's lyric exuberance to shine.

I LOVE RUMI!! To read and enjoy this book was such a great honor. New poems from Rumi is an excellent love. I will indeed share the book and shout to everyone "GET THIS!!"
Thank you to the Publisher, as well as NetGalley for the advance copy.

I enjoyed the book and really liked it. New poems from Rumi is always a treat Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the arc.

Rumi is a fantastic translation of Rumi's works. Easy to understand and we'll written. I enjoyed this book.

This is a wonderful collection of poems by Rumi that have never been seen. They are absolutly beautiful, as are all of Rumi's poems. If you enjoy Rumi you will enjoy this book.

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy free of charge. This is my honest and unbiased opinion of it.

I grew up in Istanbul, Turkey. In middle school, I read several of Rumi's poems. But at the time, it was annoying school work written in old Ottoman Turkish that was hard to decipher. Years after I moved to the United States, I rediscovered Rumi, this time in English.

His poems enchanted my soul.

So when I heard of this new book, I knew I wanted to read more Rumi. And this book doesn't disappoint. There is a wide range of poems here, some very similar to what's been translated before, and some closer to what I studied at school and some that are different than both.

Here are a few clippings from some of his poems that I loved:

My face is a hundred times brighter when I see your face.
My soul is a hundred times happier when your soul is near.
When the mirror of my life is polished by your love,
The mirror of the world is no longer dull and dark....


Look into the face of the beloved until his hues come alive.
As the hues reflect in your face, O pale one, come alive!
Every atom is whirling until they feel alive.
You, atom, don't you wish to come alive?
You were like a stone. Touched by his life,
Sweet running steams from stones come alive.
In the mirror, I looked into a vision of transcendence.
I asked, "Who are you?"
He said, "I am light come alive."


You are at peace when you don't need more or less,
When you don't need to be a king or a saint,
When you're free from the sorrows of the world,
When you're free from the tiniest atom of yourself.


I can go on and on. If you're a fan of Rumi, this book will not disappoint.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in return for an honest review.I grew up in Istanbul, Turkey. In middle school, I read several of Rumi's poems. But at the time, it was annoying school work written in old Ottoman Turkish that was hard to decipher. Years after I moved to the United States, I rediscovered Rumi, this time in English.

His poems enchanted my soul.

So when I heard of this new book, I knew I wanted to read more Rumi. And this book doesn't disappoint. There is a wide range of poems here, some very similar to what's been translated before, and some closer to what I studied at school and some that are different than both.

Here are a few clippings from some of his poems that I loved:

My face is a hundred times brighter when I see your face.
My soul is a hundred times happier when your soul is near.
When the mirror of my life is polished by your love,
The mirror of the world is no longer dull and dark....


Look into the face of the beloved until his hues come alive.
As the hues reflect in your face, O pale one, come alive!
Every atom is whirling until they feel alive.
You, atom, don't you wish to come alive?
You were like a stone. Touched by his life,
Sweet running steams from stones come alive.
In the mirror, I looked into a vision of transcendence.
I asked, "Who are you?"
He said, "I am light come alive."


You are at peace when you don't need more or less,
When you don't need to be a king or a saint,
When you're free from the sorrows of the world,
When you're free from the tiniest atom of yourself.


I can go on and on. If you're a fan of Rumi, this book will not disappoint.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in return for an honest review.