Looking for a ghazal from Rumi's Divan?
In English
Generally, lovers of Rumi's poetry will write and send a single line
from a poem they have read somewhere, usually a poem they were
very attracted to, and ask which book it came from. This presents
difficulties (unless it is a quatrain-- see below). If the line is from
one of Rumi's "longer poems" (longer than four half-lines), then it
is from a ghazal, or ode. Unfortunately, there is no data base of
such poems available via this website (and even sending the first
line will probably not help, unless it happens to be very familiar).
Oftentimes the source of the poem is from one of the various books
containing versions by Coleman Barks. Chances are good that the
poem has been re-published in Barks' popular anthology of his
renditions, "The Essential Rumi," 1995. In this case, it may be
found in the index of first lines at the end of the book (even by
going to a bookstore, in the case of someone who doesn't have a
copy or doesn't wish to buy one).
What is needed is a group of volunteers who have access to most
of the popular Rumi books who would be willing to scan all those
hundreds of pages into a word-processing program. Such a group
could then establish a website and answer Rumi poem search
requests. (The data base would need to be retained by a private
group, in order to respect copyright laws.)
If the line is from a "short poem" of four (half) lines, then it is
probably a quatrain [rubâ`i] (or it may be part of a ghazal). In this
case, feel free to send an e-mail to this website and type "ghazal
search" in the subject area. Success is most likely if the first line
(or even the first few words of the first line) of the English
rendering is sent.
In Persian
If the poem is a ghazal, all that is needed is the first line(transliterated-- the Persian words typed out, using any method), or
even the last few words of the first line plus the first word. In this
case, ghazals can be found which are in Foruzanfar's edition of the
ghazaliyât, based upon the earliest manuscripts, as well as the
"Foruzanfar number" of the poem.
If the poem is a ghazal from one of the many books translated from
Turkish by Nevit Ergin ("Dîvân-i Kebîr," Meters 1- 13) and the
request is for the corresponding ghazal number in Foruzanfar's
edition, this can be found in most cases. Send an e-mail to this
website and type "Divan Search" in the subject area.
