Kabir (Ecstatic Poems)

Originally published in 1976, with more than 75,000 copies in print, this collection of poems by fifteenth-century ecstatic poet Kabir is full of fun and full of thought. Columbia University professor of religion John Stratton Hawley has contributed an introduction that makes clear Kabir's immense importance to the contemporary reader and praises Bly's intuitive translations. By making every reader consider anew their religious thinking, the poems of Kabir seem as relevant today as when they were first written. From the Trade Paperback edition. A Weaver By Trade But A Poet-singer By Calling, Kabir Lived In Fifteenth-century India. His Philosophy Incorporated Various Beliefs Of Both Muslims And Hindus And Later Became One Of The Major Inspirations Behind Sikhism. Like The Work Of The Poet Rumi, Kabir's Verse Continues To Enlighten And Entertain Readers The World Over. Robert Bly Has Made These Incredible Poems More Accessible Than Ever To The Modern Reader. The Power Of Kabir's Words Comes From His Passion - And Also From His Humor. He Is At Once Irreverent Toward Authority And Amazed By Divinity. He Demands That Readers Live For Themselves. In The Tradition Of Ecstatic Poetry, Kabir Writes Of Bodily Delights And Of Choices Made By The Heart, Not The Mind.--jacket. The Gardener Is Coming -- The Wanting Creature -- The Bride Wants Her Lover -- The Guest Is Inside You -- Afterword / John Stratton Hawley. Versions By Robert Bly. ... Based On In One Hundred Poems Of Kabir, Translated By Rabindranath Tagore, Assisted By Evelyn Underhill (macmillan)--pref. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 98-102).