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Rumi's Spiritual Verses is the greatest mystical poem in Islamic culture. Rumi tells of our human separation from reality, from love, and from truth. He shows how love--neither erotic nor sentimental but divine, by which the universe is held together--enlightens ignorance and dissolves suffering. This first book of the Masnavi is the key to the whole work: it takes off from simple, amusing tales into realms unimaginable but is wholly familiar to the human heart.

Anton Lesser has, as an associate artist with the Royal Shakespeare Company, played many of Shakespeare's most demanding roles, including Troilus (Troilus and Cressida), Edgar (King Lear), Petruchio, Romeo, and Richard III. He is a frequent radio contributor and has recorded many audiobooks, including much of the work of Charles Dickens. Lesser's narration has won him seven AudioFile Earphones Awards.

Jalāl ad-Dīn ar-Rūmī (1207-1273), or simply Rumi, was a thirteenth-century poet, theologian, and Sufi mystic. He was perhaps the finest Persian poet of all time and a great influence on Muslim writing and culture. While he led a fairly ordinary life until the age of thirty-five, after meeting and subsequently losing his great friend and Sufi teacher Shams, Rumi was moved to emit his soul through poetry. With Shams influence, he became filled with the love of God.

Rumi is considered today to be a love poet and many translations of his work have become mere love poems. Though love is an overwhelming part of Rumi's work, the love he speaks of is a higher love for God, not for humans. Nevertheless, the imagery and language he uses has proved to be universal and enduring and he continues to be one of the best-selling poets in America.