Rumi: Poet of the Heart

Jelaluddin Rumi, born in present-day Iran seven hundred years ago, is the best selling poet in America. Born in 1207, Rumi experienced a transformation from scholar to Sufi mystical poet after the mysterious disappearance of Shams of Tabriz, a powerful wandering dervish with whom Rumi developed an extraordinary friendship.

Rumi: Poet of the Heart presents Coleman Barks, the preeminent contemporary translator of Rumi's poetry, Robert Bly, Deepak Chopra, Michael Meade, Huston Smith and others as they celebrate the earthy, joyous spiritual passion of Rumi's poetry.

The film includes performances, readings, illustrations, music and footage of the whirling dervishes woven together to serve as an introduction to Rumi and the story of his growing reputation in the West.

Completed:

1998

Running Time:

58 minutes

Director:

Haydn Reiss

Narrator: Debra Winger

Rumi: Poet of the Heart aired nationally on PBS.

"At the end of our wanderings there is only the soul's yearning to return to God. No one speaks that yearning better than Rumi. No one, these days, does Rumi better than Coleman Barks."
- Ram Dass

"Not since the popularity of The Prophet' by Kahlil Gibran has a poet made such a dent in American popular culture."
- The New York Times

"Perhaps the world's greatest spiritual poet - the gold of Rumi pours down through Coleman's words."
- Jack Kornfield, author of "A Path with Heart"

Price: $19.95

If you would like to explore films with similar themes, please click on Multifaith, Spirituality or Sufism.