Source of : "You have no idea how hard I've looked for a gift..." Thoughts on Rumi and Hafez "Translations"

[Nate Guadagni]

Would you be willing to look into:

“You have no idea how hard I've looked for a gift to bring You. Nothing seemed right. What's the point of bringing gold to the gold mine, or water to the ocean. Everything I came up with was like taking spices to the Orient. It's no good giving my heart and my soul because you already have these. So I've brought you a mirror. Look at yourself and remember me.”

This is a popular "Rumi" quote, probably "translated" by Barks.

Curious if it has any connection to Rumi's writing?

I've found your work at the bottom of a long Internet rabbit hole of Hafez and Rumi "translations" which I can see now are better called "inspirations" by American authors.

It's a bit sad to see how our American culture enjoys the idea of our own values being representing in the heart of Sufi mysticism without examining source material.

I actually find it more enriching to see the original text and then the interpretations next to them even if they are miles apart - it's kind of like a musician using a music sample and then making a whole new song out of it.

It can be done in a beautiful and healthy way if properly credited, however to pass off major creative license as a translation does a major disservice to everyone involved.

Barks and Ladinsky are supreme poets and I give them credit for that, however to call themselves translators and standing by a very loose definition of the word when the whole world considers a translation to be an honest attempt to convey the original meaning is disingenuous at best.

Imagine if the US and Iranian heads of state hired these poets as translators for diplomatic discussions... well on second thought, maybe they would do better than actual translators... :)

[Ibrahim]

Dear Nate,

Salām,

Yes, that is Barks' interpretive version of Rumi's story about Joseph and the mirror.

http://www.masnavi.net/1/10/eng/1/3191/

Ibrahim

[Christopher Starbuck]

I don't know about Ladinsky - his words are beautiful, but do seem in a galaxy far, far far away from Hafez of Shiraz - perhaps there's a wormhole between galaxies.

But Barks is different, he's still within the same universe of translation. He works closely and deeply with the literal translations to find the spirit of each poem and give it life in American free verse, and he's done this as an immense labour of love for decades, in conversation with Persian speaking friends and under the influence and blessing of the sufi teacher Bawa Muhaiyaddeen.

So he's part of the genuine movement of Rumi from one language and culture into another - Arberry and Gamard etc. carry Rumi from one shore to another and leave him there... Barks then helps him travel further inland. 

But personally I have to say I prefer Arberry, Gamard and even Nicholson to than Barks. I can read Barks for 15 minutes to connect my heart to Rumi before meditation, or to discuss one of his poems with friends. But with Arberry or Gamard I can read their collections for hours, totally absorbed, drawn in deeper and deeper. I don't think this is just because I know Rumi well, but also because for me there is more poetic depth and energy in their versions - like opening the hood of a car expecting to find a four-stroke engine and finding instead a nuclear fusion reactor!

But I think I'm unusual in this, and it's probably because I've worked closely as a director with theatre plays in translation. Most readers will need a Barks to bring Rumi fully alive for them as poetry.

The new Rumi translation 'Gold' by Liza Gafori is wonderful - she speaks Persian fluently and is a gifted spoken word poet herself. The videos of her reciting Rumi in both languages are worth looking up online!

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