Poetry For All
Finding Our Way Into Great Poems
Displaying 2 items of Poetry For All with the tag "13th century".
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Episode 94: Sumer is icumen in
June 19th, 2025 | Season 6 | 25 mins 6 secs
13th century, joy, middle english, nature, round
In this episode, we offer a close reading of "Sumer is icumen in," a Middle English song that anticipates the abundant joys of summer.
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Episode 63: Rumi, Colorless, Nameless, Free
August 29th, 2023 | Season 6 | 29 mins 56 secs
13th century, ghazal, guest on the show, islam, joy, poetry in translation, restlessness, rhymed verse, spirituality, surprise, wonder, world poetry
In this episode, poet and translator Haleh Liza Gafori joins us to closely read and discuss a poem by Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī (1207-1273 CE), one of the greatest of all Sufi poets. We discuss the poetic constraints of the ghazal form, Rumi's encounters with the divine, and the significance of his friendship with Shams, a man who transformed his life and poetic practice.