LOVE’S ALCHEMY: New Book Celebrates Poets from the Sufi Tradition
David and Sabrineh Fideler
P.R. Contact: Kim Corbin

For several years, the thirteenth-century mystical poet Jalaluddin Rumi has been the best-selling poet in the United States. But he is just one voice in Sufi poetry, the timeless expression of Persian mysticism. The poems and epigrams collected in the enclosed advance copy of Love’s Alchemy: Poems from the Sufi Tradition (New World Library, May 2006) represent all of the major poets, including Rumi, of this magnificent art.

While many recent bestsellers have been interpretations from other English translations, in Love’s Alchemy translators David and Sabrineh Fideler work from the original Persian sources. The book offers faithful yet elegant translations from 150 of the best poems written in ruba‘i form: concise, tightly focused meditations that span only four lines, but which reveal worlds of meaning.

In their introduction, the Fidelers offer a brief explanation of the symbolic code used in Persian poetry. For instance, wine, which is prohibited by Islam, refers to divine love and the mystic knowledge it brings. Intoxication or drunkenness refers to divine inebriation, ecstasy, and direct knowledge of the divine. The Beloved or Friend is a reference to God, but it may simultaneously refer to a human being in whom the qualities are reflected like a mirror. The Fidelers also include an extensive glossary and notes that place these wonderful poems in cultural, historical, and religious context.

The Fidelers speak to the deeper vision of the human condition and the spiritual path inherent in the poetry. They explain how the many layers of Persian poetry allow Sufi poets to transmit great depths of meaning, even in a poem of four lines. They write, “It provides the reader with an ongoing source of delight — for as the reader?s understanding continues to expand, the same poetry can continue to reveal deeper levels of meaning over the course of many years.”

The poems and mystical epigrams found in Love’s Alchemy represent all major Sufi poets and explore many aspects of human life and the spiritual path but center on the liberating power of love.

About the Author
David Fideler has taught at the college level, written widely on the spiritual traditions of the Western world, and teaches courses on Sufi poetry. He holds a Ph.D. in philosophy and cultural studies. Sabrineh Fideler holds a degree in English-Persian translation from Azad University in Iran and teaches Persian to English speakers. They currently live in western Michigan.

Love’s Alchemy
By David and Sabrineh Fideler
May 2006 • Philosophy & Spirituality
Trade Cloth • Price: $18.00
ISBN 1-57731-535-9 • 224 pages • 5" x 8"