The Hand of Poetry offers entrance into the world of beauty and truth. Five lectures on Persian poetry given by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan in San Francisco in 1923 are followed by fresh translations by the poet Coleman Barks of some of the poetry Inayat Khan discusses, including pieces from Sanai, Attar, Rumi, Saadi and Hafiz. Coleman Barks is a renowned poet and the bestselling author of The Essential Rumi, The Soul of Rumi and Rumi: The Book of Love. He was prominently featured in both of Bill Moyers's PBS television series on poetry, "The Language of Life" and "Fooling with Words." He taught English and poetry at the University of Georgia for thirty years, and now focuses on writing, reading, and performances. "It is always wonderful to taste the fruit of these masters, and both Inayat Khan and Coleman Barks make their wisdom and delights more accessible to us." --Llewellyn Vaughn-Lee "What the Sufis and the Dervishes have sought for in the past is the same as that which all true seekers after Truth yearn for now in their own hearts. The message for our time is the same message that was given to us by these great mystic poets, who wrote so long ago. It is the message of Freedom."--Reshad Field