Publication
Imprint: Louisville, Kentucky : Fons Vitae, 2018. Responsibility: by Katharine Branning. OCLC Number: 1051776647. Physical: Text : 1 volume : 174 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm. Features: Includes bibliography, glossary, timeline.
Call number
Fiction / Brann
ISBN
9781941610091
Collections
CSS Library Notes
Named Person: Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī, Maulana; Eva de Vitray-Meyerovitch;
Description: You hold in your hands a biographical novel of the French scholar Eva de Vitray-Meyerovitch, translator of the 13th century Sufi poet Rumi, also known as Mevlana, "Our Master."
Eva de Vitray-Meyerovitch, Paris, France, in the 1960s and 70s: a modern European woman pursuing a brilliant professional career and family life.
Jelaleddin Rumi, Konya, Turkey, in the 1250s: a teacher following his charismatic scholar father, studying and learning all he could in the cosmopolitan court of the Seljuk Empire.
Everything would appear to separate them on the surface: One was French, the other Persian transplanted to Turkey; one was born a Christian woman in the modern area, the other a Muslim man in the Middle Ages. Yet, much united them at the same time: both were teachers and seekers of truth who communicated in the universal language of compassion and love. Each experienced a chance encounter which changed their lives and united them thereafter in spiritual and intellectual complicity.
Their dialogue across languages and cultures is related here in a series of imaginary conversations that Eva de Vitray-Meyerovitch holds with Mevlana, recalling her life - childhood, university studies, marriage, war years, discovery of Islam, teaching career, travels, public advocacy, mentorship, and translation projects -- all surprisingly mirror the trajectory of Mevlana's own life 700 years earlier...
Each conversation is preceded by a description of one of the twelve successive parts of the sema, the world-famous whirling ceremony of the dervishes of the Mevlevi Sufi order founded by Mevlana. These segments not only provide insight on the details of this moving ritual of moving meditation, but also set the rhythm for the mutual itinerary of Mevlana and Eva de Vitray-Meyerovitch. -- from the author's preface.
FY2019 /
Description: You hold in your hands a biographical novel of the French scholar Eva de Vitray-Meyerovitch, translator of the 13th century Sufi poet Rumi, also known as Mevlana, "Our Master."
Eva de Vitray-Meyerovitch, Paris, France, in the 1960s and 70s: a modern European woman pursuing a brilliant professional career and family life.
Jelaleddin Rumi, Konya, Turkey, in the 1250s: a teacher following his charismatic scholar father, studying and learning all he could in the cosmopolitan court of the Seljuk Empire.
Everything would appear to separate them on the surface: One was French, the other Persian transplanted to Turkey; one was born a Christian woman in the modern area, the other a Muslim man in the Middle Ages. Yet, much united them at the same time: both were teachers and seekers of truth who communicated in the universal language of compassion and love. Each experienced a chance encounter which changed their lives and united them thereafter in spiritual and intellectual complicity.
Their dialogue across languages and cultures is related here in a series of imaginary conversations that Eva de Vitray-Meyerovitch holds with Mevlana, recalling her life - childhood, university studies, marriage, war years, discovery of Islam, teaching career, travels, public advocacy, mentorship, and translation projects -- all surprisingly mirror the trajectory of Mevlana's own life 700 years earlier...
Each conversation is preceded by a description of one of the twelve successive parts of the sema, the world-famous whirling ceremony of the dervishes of the Mevlevi Sufi order founded by Mevlana. These segments not only provide insight on the details of this moving ritual of moving meditation, but also set the rhythm for the mutual itinerary of Mevlana and Eva de Vitray-Meyerovitch. -- from the author's preface.
FY2019 /
Physical description
174 p.; 23 cm
Description
This biographical novel presents the story of the French scholar Eva de Vitray-Meyerovitch, French translator of Mevlana, more familiarly known as Rumi. The book takes the form of a dialog between this female 20th century scholar and Mevlana, who lived in 13th century Turkey. The book is structured in 12 chapters. There are 12 parts to the sema dance of the Whirling Dervishes, the dervish group founded by Mevlana. The progression of the 12 parts of this ceremony mirrors the stages of both the life of Eva de Vitray and Rumi himself. The three are interviewed in a captivating manner. Each sema section is described at the beginning of a chapter to enhance the feeling of ritual in the book and how it feeds into her itinerary.
Language
Original language
English