Rumi: Whirling Dervish - Hardcover

Demi

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0761455272 ISBN 13: 9780761455271

Publisher: Two Lions, 2012

Synopsis

Born in Afghanistan in the thirteenth century, Rumi settled in Turkey and became a great mystical poet. From a holy man, Shamsuddin, Rumi learned to listen for the sacred sound of God within himself. When his creative spirit was awakned, he recited more than 50,000 rhymed couplets. He also wrote about the love that resides in the soul of everyone, regardless of religion or background. He founded the order of the whirling dervishes, who believed their spinning dances put them in touch with God and brought peace and love into the world. To honor the 800th anniversary of his birth, the United Nations declared 2007 The Year of Mawlana Jalaladdin Rumi.

Demi’s spectacular art, inspired by the eastern culture of the thirteenth century, was painted with Turkish and Chinese inks and gold overlays. An introductory note by Dr. Laleh Bakhtiar, Ph.D., is included.

About this title

About the Author

Demi was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and now lives in Yarrow Point, Washington. Demi is the author and illustrator of more than one hundred children's books, including picture-book biographies. Her work has received numerous awards and accolades.

Reviews

Two years after the United Nations declared “The Year of Rumi,” Demi presents this picture-book introduction to the thirteenth-century mystical poet. As in her previous illustrated biographies, Demi condenses her famous subject’s life into a brief but substantive text. Here, she adds frequent excerpts from Rumi’s poems and writings, and while the timeless passages aren’t always smoothly integrated, they clearly demonstrate the poet’s range of themes, as well as the reasons for his 800-year-old celebrity status. In an introductory note, Demi cites Turkish miniatures as her inspiration for the small-scale, elaborately patterned pictures, rendered in Turkish and Chinese inks with gold overlay. Matching the poems’ themes of spiritual union and elation, the gilded, celebratory pictures create shimmering beauty from the smallest details. Children will be particularly drawn to the scenes of dervishes whirling in perfect harmony, while Demi’s simple words explain the symbolism in the movement: “His inspired verses and his whirling dervishes show that his love of God turns forever.” A handsome tribute to a figure, and a subject, rarely covered in children’s books. Grades 5-8. --Gillian Engberg

Edition details

• Publisher: Two Lions
• Publication date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0761455272
• ISBN 13: 9780761455271
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Demi
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 40