Ink of Light (The Fons Vitae Rumi Series) - Softcover

Branning PhD, Katharine

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1941610099 ISBN 13: 9781941610091

Publisher: Fons Vitae, 2019

Synopsis

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.

About this title

About the Author:

Katharine Branning is Vice-President of the French Institute Alliance Française in New York City, where she serves as the Director of FIAF’s Library. She was awarded the Ordre National du Mérite from the President of France in 2006, one of the nation’s highest honors. As an independent researcher, she has conducted annual field work relative to architecture and decorative arts in Turkey.

Review:

“This text presents a felicitous and rare harmony between historical fact and literary fiction . . . We are in the presence of journey towards spiritual awakening, undertaken by human beings as an essential quest for survival.”  —Eric Geoffroy, Islamologist and Professor at the University of Strasbourg, France

"A luminous travel through time written from the heart. This double biographical novel depicts the life of Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi and Eva de-Vitray Meyerovitch, a remarkable French woman who accomplished the incredible task of translating all six volumes of the Mathnawi. Eva would be happy with this rendition of her life." –Shems Friedlander, poet, photographer and author of Rumi a Hidden Treasure, a Mevleri Shaykh, living in Istanbul, Professor Emeritus, The American University in Cairo

“This book is unique in the way it offers insights into how a woman schooled in the Western intellectual tradition could be transformed by her encounter with the profoundest ideas of the Islamic Sufi tradition.”  —Kabir Helminski, translator of Rumi, Sufi Shaikh and author

“The Ink of Light offers us an intimate feminine glimpse inside the secrets of the Whirling. Here we see the body, spirit, training, soaring as one. Highly recommended for all spiritual seekers and lovers of Rumi.”  —Omid Safi, Professor and Director of Duke Islamic Studies Center

About this edition

• Publisher: Fons Vitae
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 1941610099
• ISBN 13: 9781941610091
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 176