Mirabai - (Paperback)

About the Book

Like Coleman Barks's translations of Rumi, this collection of poems by Mirabai will appeal to anyone interested in spiritual poetry. Translator and renowned poet Robert Bly has teamed up with Jane Hirshfield, a leader in the field of feminine spiritual poetry, to bring us a passionate and inspiring collection of the ecstatic poems of a figure of legendary proportions.Born in India in 1498, Mirabai celebrated both the body and the spirit in her work. By her death in 1550 she was a well-known and well-loved poet throughout her country. Now, Bly and Hirshfield brilliantly translate this sage's work, so full of drama, passion, and yearning.

Book Synopsis

Mirabai is a literary and spiritual figure of legendary proportions. Born a princess in the region of Rajasthan in 1498, Mira (as she is more commonly known) eschewed the marriage her royal family had arranged for her, celebrating instead her right to independence and intense devotion to Krishna in both her life and poetry. In this collection, Robert Bly and Jane Hirshfield, two of America's best poets, have created lively English versions of Mirabai's poems, using fresh images and energetic rhythms to make them accessible to modern readers.

Review Quotes

We are so fortunate that two magnificent poets have been drawn to Mirabai's music. Like two twining flutes, Robert Bly and Jane Hirshfield ignite these subtle, surrendered-heart notes.--Coleman Barks, author of The Drowned Book and The Essential Rumi

About the Author

Robert Bly is the author of the groundbreaking New York Times bestseller Iron John, which launched the men's movement to national fame, as well as several collections of original poetry, most recently, The Night Abraham Called to the Stars: Poems. He has translated numerous poets into English, including Kabir, Pablo Neruda, Cesar Vallejo, Juan Ramon Jimenez, and Frederico Garcia Lorca. He lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Jane Hirshfield is the author of six collections of poetry, most recently After. In 2004, she was awarded the 70th Academy Fellowship for distinguished poetic achievement by The Academy of American Poets. She is also editor and co-translator of two now-classic collections of women's poetry from the past, The Ink Dark Moon: Poems by Komachi and Shikibu, Women of the Ancient Court of Japan and Women in Praise of the Sacred: 43 Centuries of Spiritual Poetry by Women. She lives in the San Francisco Bay area.