Considered by Rumi to be the master of Sufi mystic poetry, Attar is best known for this epic poem, a magnificent allegorical tale about the soul's search for meaning. He recounts the perilous journey of the world's birds to the faraway peaks of Mount Qaf in search of the mysterious Simorgh, their king. Attar's beguiling anecdotes and humor intermingle the sublime with the mundane, the spiritual with the worldly, while his poem models the soul's escape from the mind's rational embrace.

Sholeh Wolp re-creates for modern readers the beauty and timeless wisdom of the original Persian, in contemporary English verse and poetic prose.

The first comprehensive English collection from one of the world's most influential mystics--Attar--the twelfth-century poet Rumi called his master.

Twelfth-century Persian poet Attar (1145-1221) was revered by Rumi and though his work is beloved around the world, he is mostly unknown to English readers. Translated in simple, elegant language by award-winning poet Sholeh Wolpé--one among generations of poets influenced by Attar's poetry--The Invisible Sun is a beautiful treasury of Attar's most prescient poetry, offering comfort and inspiration.

Attar was one of the most important mystic Sufi poets in the East, comparable in stature and influence to John Milton in the West. In Western thought there is a sharp separation between day-to-day human experience and the transcendence of religion and spirituality. But Sufi philosophy teaches that while the soul awaits its release from the confines of the body, it can experience the other world through mystic union achieved by an inward journey to purify the self.

The Invisible Sun widely introduces the work of Attar--the master Rumi called the spirit and himself its shadow--to English-speaking readers as never before. Profound yet exquisite in its simplicity, bringing comfort and wisdom, Attar's poetry continues to resonate today:

Everything, large and small, honors your existence,

don't look at yourself with contempt.

There is nothing greater than you.