Water

“Haleh Liza Gafori’s pitch-perfect translation of Rumi updates and amplifies his mindful, muscular soul. My sense of his poetry, shaped by prior translators, has been rebooted—or entirely, booted—by her prismatic lyricism. Music, wit, and empathy color her lens. What a sweeping, invigorating read.” —Terrance Hayes“These stunning translations of Master Rumi, at once gustatory and spiritual, cut the gloom of our existential doings. Imperative now, as ever, to know this beauty and love.” —Anne Waldman“Water is immediate and timeless. These poems imprint on the heart. To read these verses is to enter mystery and paradox, to be burnished by the sacred fire and broken open by the holiest dance.” —Suleika Jaouad“Gorgeous, fluent, and faithful translations. Gafori renders Rumi’s voice on the page with an original integrity that is as skilled as it is unforgettable.” —Pádraig Ó Tuama“Has there ever been a better moment to read or reread the timeless lyrical wisdom of Rumi? As translator Haleh Liza Gafori reminds us in these elegant new translations, Rumi offers both indelible ground to stand on, and energy to move forward with hope and grace.” —Naomi Shihab Nye“This Rumi speaks to us across time, to offer us a way back into our lives. ‘Now tell me about the God inside. / For once, enter your own house.’ Each poem in this luminous new translation is meant for this moment. ‘If your eyes are polluted, / let your tears wash them. / The cure is in your tears.’ Haleh Liza Gafori is offering us a gift, to light our way home.” —Nick Flynn“Gafori’s elegant translations of Rumi’s poems in Water can change your life. Her fidelity to the original Persian, her understanding of the Sufi context in which these poems sprang to life, and her exquisite musical sensibility make Water essential reading.” —Christopher Merrill“Gafori’s selection boasts idiosyncratic connections and ear-catching tempo changes, from sequences and litanies to unimprovably terse epigrams: ‘Beloved, when your sweetness rains down / the price of rock candy plummets.’” —Christopher Spaide, LitHub “Gafori’s translation is exceptional: contemporary, razor-sharp, and lyrically expansive but still unmistakably Rumi … an accessible, enjoyable, and essential entry point to Rumi’s work.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review

Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī (1207-1273)

Born in or near Balkh, in present-day Afghanistan, Rumi is widely considered the greatest poet of the Persian language. His major works include the Masnavi, a six-volume collection of mystical teachings, and the Divan-e Shams-e Tabrizi, a collection of lyric poetry. He died and was buried in Konya, Turkey.

Haleh Liza Gafori

Haleh Liza Gafori is a NYC-born translator, performance artist, writer, musician, and educator of Iranian descent. Her translations of Rumi include Water (2025) and the acclaimed Gold (2022), both published by New York Review Books. Gold has been incorporated into university curricula nationwide.

A 2024 MacDowell fellow and recipient of a grant from NYSCA, Gafori has created musical and cross-media performances based on her translations. She has presented her work, through performances, lectures, and workshops, at institutions such as Stanford University, Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Academy of American Poets, Sarah Lawrence College, and Lincoln Center. Her writings have been published by Columbia University Press, Paris Review, Harvard Review, and Literary Hub, among others.

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