Rumi's "Divani Shamsi Tabriz" ("The Works of Shams of Tabriz"—named in honour of Rumi's spiritual teacher and friend) is a collection of lyric poems that contain more than 40,000 verses is a classic of Persian literature. Its most familiar form is as a big red book, hence the name.

Coleman Barks is famous for his renderings of Rumi's poetry and his work on these particular poems has never been published anywhere. This book represents over thirty-three years on Rumi's seminal classic.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Coleman Barks is a renowned poet and the bestselling author of The Essential Rumi, The Soul of Rumi, Rumi: The Book of Love, and The Drowned Book. He was prominently featured in both of Bill Moyers's PBS television series on poetry, "The Language of Life" and "Fooling with Words." He taught English and poetry at the University of Georgia for thirty years, and he now focuses on writing, readings, and performances.