Book Description
This collection presents, for the first time in English, a compilation of seven centuries of the mystic hymns of Turkey’s rebellious Sufi poets, the popular folk counterparts to Rumi whose poems are characterized by a passionate and unorthodox commitment to Truth. At the time Rumi was writing, many other great mystics in the region were also composing wild, ecstatic and controversial poems which were circulated among the people as spiritual songs called nefes and illahis, still played and sung today in sacred dervish ceremonies and gatherings. These poems were meant to swiftly and easily penetrate the heart of the spiritual aspirant, and awaken the human heart to its divine inheritance. The poems present a spiritual tradition from the Islamic world emphasizing universal mystic love and tolerance.
About the author
Jennifer Ferraro is a poet, artist and performer and teacher, with a BA and MA from the New School for Social Research and UNM. Author of Divine Nostalgia (2002), she has toured widely with the Latif Bolat Ensemble, playing frame drum, and reciting poetry with devotional dance.
Latif Bolat, a distinguished Turkish musician, giving numerous concerts, lectures, and workshops throughout the world including North America.
