Baha'i Library Online

Poetry

  1. Adelbert Muhlschlegel. Gisele Liedtke, trans. Adelbert Mühlschlegel: Seine Gedichte in zwei Sprachen: His Poetry in Two Languages (2010). Overview of the life of this Hand of the Cause, written by his daughter and son-in-law, and a selection of 31 poems, with the original German and English translation presented side-by-side.
  2. Suheil Badi Bushrui. Age of Anxiety and the Century of Light, The: Twentieth-Century Literature, the Poet's Mission, and the Vision of World Unity (2003). W. B. Yeats, T. S. Eliot, W. H. Auden, and Kahlil Gibran were writers who recognized and confronted the spiritual and intellectual crisis of their time. The mission of the poet is to bear witness, maintain the integrity of language, and express truths.
  3. Ann Boyles. "Angle of Ascent", The: Process and Achievement in the Work of Robert Hayden (1992). Hayden's poetry explores the process of individual and collective social and spiritual transformation in the contexts of contemporary culture, the Bahá'í Faith, black history, art, literature, nature, disease, and suffering.
  4. Roger White. Another Song, Another Season: Poems and Portrayals (1979). A collection of poems and prose: sympathetic and sometimes satirical portraits of martyrs, pioneers, and ordinary people, expressed with a poet’s vision.
  5. Sonja van Kerkhoff, comp. Artist Biographies from Arts Dialogue (2001). A list of artist profiles which can be found in the Bahá'í Association for the Arts newsletter (offsite). Linked articles include poetry, photography, and samples of visual art.
  6. Bahá'í Classes Songsheets (2008). Compilation of 99 songs, with lyrics and chords to songs by Gloria Faizi, Red and Kathy Grammer, Kathy Liebman, Cat Winterfox, Jackie Elliot, Tom Price, Steve Seskin, Allen Shamblin, Mildred McClellan, Wiley Rinaldi, Bob Simms, Lloyd Haynes, et al.
  7. Child Education Committee of Greater Houston, comp. Bahá'í Song Book (2005). Lyrics to 95 popular Bahá'í songs, including prayers and writings that are often sung.
  8. Bahá'í Songs with Guitar Chords (2008). Compilation of 78 songs, with lyrics and chords to many songs, mostly Bahá'í, but including some popular children's songs. Authors' names not included.
  9. Geoffrey Nash. Can There Be a Bahá'í Poetry? (1981). The poetic vision; poetry in the 1800s; themes of Bahá'í poetry; the use of profane imagery.
  10. Jalal Sunstrum. Chase's Chaste Chase: Poems (2023). Twelve poems on the theme of facing reality on our way to the promised land of world peace and joy. The title is in honor of Thornton Chase.
  11. Weimar Port. Chicago the Pagan (1953). 2-page description of the Bahá'í Temple in Wilmette, with a poem about it by Charles Collins published in the Chicago Tribune.
  12. Jack McLean. Crucible, The: Poems (1995). 53 poems, some written after the passing of the author's father, Allan James McLean (d. 1995).
  13. David Merrick. Declaration of the Bab (Poetic) (2008). A poetic meditation on Mulla Husayn's transformation at the Declaration of the Bab.
  14. Roger White. Deft Adjustment, The: English-language poetry in present-day Israel (1988). Discussion of Israeli and Jewish poems, and reviews of the books Voices within the Ark, Modern Hebrew Poetry, Penguin Book of Hebrew Verse, Seven Gates: Poetry from Jerusalem, and Voices Israel.
  15. dialogue magazine: image scans of all issues (1986). All six issues (in picture scans of each page) of an independent, short-lived journal containing scholarly discussion, news, interviews, and poetry.
  16. Ron Price. Emergence of a Bahá'í Consciousness in World Literature: The Poetry of Roger White (2002). A study of White's verse with a short biography and an analysis of the Bahá'í Faith.
  17. Lua Getsinger and Edward C. Getsinger et al. Explanation of Spiritual Evolution as Taught from the Bahá'í Teachings (1899). Chart "Cycle of Life" allegedly drawn on Abdu'l-Bahá's behalf (1899) to refute reincarnation; accompanying text quoting Lua's pilgrim's notes by Curtis Kelsey (1958); a letter from the Universal House of Justice (1997); and a talk by Lua Getsinger (1911).
  18. Sheila Banani. Eyes of the Children, The (1986). One poem inspired by female infanticide in China.
  19. Duane L. Herrmann. Family Plowing and other Prairie Poems (2019). Nine poems selected by the author, from a collection celebrating the prairie and life on and under it.
  20. Jack McLean. Gathering Traces: Selected Poems 1975-2002 (2002). 95 poems written during phases of life including marriage and child-rearing in Quebec, a teaching career, separation and divorce, a stay on an island in British Columbia, and early retirement.
  21. Roger White. Glimpses of Abdu'l-Baha: Adapted from the Diary of Juliet Thompson (1979). Portrayals and dramatizations in verse, adapted from recollections by Juliet Thompson.
  22. Duane L. Herrmann. Hidden Meanings in the Poetry of Robert Hayden (2012). The Bahá'í Faith influenced Hayden's work on multiple levels, beyond his obvious allusions to the Bahá'í teachings regarding brotherhood of races or acceptance of religions.
  23. Julio Savi. Homage to Memorials of the Faithful, An (2016). Poems inspired by eight of the personages of "Memorials": Shaykh Salman, Nabil-i-Zarandi, Darvish-i-Sidq-‘Ali, Shaykh Sadiq-i-Yazdi, Zaynu’l-‘Abidin Yazdi, Shaykh ‘Ali Akbar-i-Mazgani, ‘Abdu’llah Baghdadi, and Jinab-i-Munib.
  24. Duane L. Herrmann. Ichnographical: 173 (2016). Poems of life, experience, and transcendence. Sample of poetry from the published book, selected by the author, for sharing with the Bahá'í Library.
  25. Jack McLean. Impressions from the Rock of Gibraltar: The Journal of a Travelling Teacher (2010). Book-length compilation of essays and poetry, written while travel-teaching in Spain and Morocco, August - December 2009.
  26. Chris Jones Kavelin. Journey of Broken Hearts (2005). Three poems on meeting or loving the Beloved, and one inspired by the music of Henryk Górecki.
  27. Pierre Daoust. La poésie du Kitáb-i-Aqdas: Aspects de l'esthétique (2018). Les concepts philosophiques qui éclairent sur le sens de la vie et la nature spirituelle de l'être humain, révélés sous forme de prose rimée caractéristique de la poésie arabe. Le Kitáb-i-Aqdas touche à l'esthétique et au bonheur.
  28. Belinda Belton, comp. Letters inscribed upon His sacred scroll: An anthology of poetry by Australian Bahá'ís 1999 (2000). A collection of 16 poems.
  29. E. G. Browne. Literature of Persia, The: A Lecture delivered to the Persia Society (1912). A selection of Persian poetry, featuring poems by Nabil, Tahirih, and Bábí martyrs.
  30. Richard Hollinger. Margaret Danner, the Black Arts Movement, and the Bahá'í Faith (2016). Short overview of the life of a black Bahá’í poet of some renown in the 1960s and 1970s. Includes one sample poem.
  31. George Townshend. Mission of Bahá'u'lláh, The: And Other Literary Pieces (1952). Poems, meditations, and essays, including "Nabíl’s history of the Báb," "Abdu’l-Bahá: A study of a Christlike character," "Queen Marie of Rumania and the Bahá’í Faith," "The wellspring of happiness," and "The genius of Ireland."
  32. Brett Zamir. Most Great Peace (a rap) (2007).
  33. R. Jackson Armstrong-Ingram. Music, Devotions, and Mashriqu'l-Adhkar (1987). An in-depth examination of the development of music and hymns within American Bahá'í devotional life, some history of the Chicago community, and the architecture and construction of the Wilmette temple. Includes sheet music and design plans.
  34. Badi Shams. Mystic Ramblings and Daydreamings (2022). Poems, meditations, and quotes from Bahá'í Writings and other sacred scriptures.
  35. Roy P. Mottahedeh. Ná'ím: A Bahá'í Poet (1967). Biography of and selection of poems by a Persian Bahá'í in the time of Bahá'u'lláh and Abdu'l-Bahá.
  36. Hussein Ahdieh. Nayriz Heroes: 22 Biographies of Bábís and Bahá'ís from Nayriz, Calligraphy of Ahmad Nayrizi, and Poetry of Vafá (2013). Bios of Muhammad Shafi, Nayrizi Vahidi, Abu Turab, Imam Jumih Shirazi, Ahmad Khoshnevis Nayrizi, Muhammad Nayrizi, Pari Jan Khanum, Shaykh Bahá'í, Jalal Misaghi, Rooha Ahdieh Misaghi, Muhammad Husayn, Shafi Rouhani, Ja'fari Yazdi, Ibrahim Khoshnevis, etc.
  37. Stanwood Cobb. New Horizons for the Child (1934). Understanding the child; character training; home life; the child as an individual; limitations of activity education; children as creative and active beings; romanticism vs. classicism; builders of civilization. Includes 20 pages of childrens' poetry.
  38. Duane L. Herrmann. No Known Address (2020). Nine poems selected by the author, from a collection of Holocaust poetry.
  39. Marzieh Gail. Notes on Persian Love Poems (1968). A short history of Persian poetry. Includes a selection of poems by Hafiz, Rumi, Ali-Kuli Khan, and others, many related to the Bahá'í Faith or quoted by Bahá'u'lláh or Abdu'l-Bahá, and one written for Abdu'l-Bahá.
  40. Roger White. One Bird, One Cage, One Flight: Homage to Emily Dickinson (1983). In over 100 poems, inspired by themes and images from Dickinson's letters and poetry, White narrates her life from age 14 until her death in 1886, salutes her wit, and pays tribute to her person.
  41. Geoffrey Nash. Oppression and Universalism in Selected Palestinian and Bahá'í Poetry: A Contrastive Analysis (2022). Contrast of literatures informed by dispossession and oppression; the thought and context of Bahá'í poet Robert Hayden (1913-80) and Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish (1941-2008); martyrdom; universal humanism. Link to article (offsite).
  42. Ron Price. Pioneering Over Four Epochs: An Autobiographical Study: Poetry and essays (1944). Table of Contents for a memoir of six decades of teaching & international travel, an extensive personal account of the experience of a Western Bahai beginning in the 2nd epoch, 1944 to 1963, of the teaching Plans.
  43. Leslie Garrett. Poems (2016).
  44. Jack McLean. Poems from a Misty Island (1997). Poetry written while on a two-year stay on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia.
  45. Jack McLean. Poems in Latter Days, Some (2022). Poems written 2009-2022 on themes from incidents in everyday life, eulogies to friends who have passed and others still living, metaphysical poems inspired by the spiritual quest, and the many faces of love.
  46. Betty Eskuche. Poems Often Enrich My Spirit (2005). A collection of a dozen poems and the Bahá'í quotes that inspired them.
  47. Roger White. Poetry and Self-Transformation (1989). Poetry is no longer very accessible to the average reader or widely read; serious poets are often in conflict with their times; the Bahá'í Writings provide a foundation for poetic expression and a renewed spiritual aesthetics.
  48. Peter E. Murphy. Poetry and Transformation (2014). A personal story of how the evolving attraction to and love of poetry transformed the author's life. Poetry, faith, and the revealed Word can have a dramatic effect on one's struggle for personal transformation in the midst of crisis and turmoil.
  49. Gretchen Sousa and L. B. Chase et al. Poetry from dialogue magazine (1986). Nine poems by six authors, published in various volumes of Dialogue.
  50. Duane L. Herrmann. Prairies of Possibilities (2005). Sample of poems from the published book, selected by the author — whom Midwest Quarterly celebrated as "one of the most recognized poets in Kansas" — for sharing with the Bahá'í Library,
  51. Duane L. Herrmann. Praise the King of Glory: New and Selected Poems (2017). 9 poems, selected by the author, from a collection published to celebrate the bicentennial of the birth of Bahá’u’lláh. Many of the poems refer to events in the life of Bahá’u’lláh.
  52. Shirin Sabri. Purpose of Poetry, The (1988). Justifications for the work of contemporary artists; now is the time for Bahá’ís to work towards the flowering of civilization, using art as a unifying force to create links of understanding; poetry provides a means of approaching spiritual reality.
  53. Various National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Ecuador, comp. Recuerdos de los amigos del Consejero Raúl Pavón Mejía: Padre de la enseñanza a los indígenas en Ecuador (2008). Compendium of stories and testimonies from the many friends who shared life and Faith with this renowned teacher to the indigenous peoples of Ecuador. Includes five pages of poetry, at end.
  54. John S. Hatcher, ed. Reflections on the Art of My Poetry: An Interview of Roger White (1929-1993) (2016). A glimpse into the mind of a gifted poet and the struggles that he, like many Bahá'í artists, encountered in responding to Bahá'u'lláh's exhortation that art best serves humanity when it elevates and edifies the soul and its spiritual receptivity.
  55. Duane L. Herrmann. Remnants of a Life (2019). Poems that reflect on a childhood that was survived in spite of events and conditions; a message of hope for others that survival is worth the effort and more than mere survival is possible.
  56. Julio Savi. Remoteness: Selected Poems (2002). A lengthy collection of poems, some originally written in Italian and translated to English by the author.
  57. John S. Hatcher, ed. Reunion with the Beloved: Poetry and Martyrdom (2004). Poetry by or in honor of early Bábí and Bahá'í martyrs. Includes foreword by Hushmand Fatheazam, and discussion of the concept of martyrdom, cultural issues, and history of persecutions.
  58. Diana Rose Yoka. Scholarship from an Aboriginal Perspective (1996). Scholarship can be demonstrated in our daily lives, through how we interact with each other and put Bahá'u'lláh's admonitions into action; it is not limited to the written word: to have meaning it needs to include experiential learning.
  59. Tahirih Qurratu'l-Ayn and Nabil-i-A'zam. E.G. Browne, trans. Selected Poems by Qurratu'l-`Ayn, Nabil, and other Babis (1918).
  60. Julio Savi. Shedding Light in the Hearts: Reflections on Poetry (2001). Limitations and merits of poetry as an emotional stimulus, as truth, and as a privileged form of linguistic expression, and its purpose as a spiritual conception of the nature of reality.
  61. Frank Lewis. Short Poem by "Darvísh" Muhammad, Bahá'u'lláh: Sáqí az ghayb-i baqá burqa' bar afkan az 'idhár, A: An Introduction and Three Versions of Provisional English Translations (2001). Three alternative renderings of a translation of one of Baha’u’llah’s early poems, writing during his sojourn in Kurdistan; comments on his poetic work.
  62. Stanwood Cobb. Simla, a Tale of Love (1919). A Hindu legend retold in poetic form: a story of love and devotion that reconciles flesh and spirit, love and life, the world and the soul.
  63. Peter Mputle. Solace of the Heart: selected poems (2015). 30 contemporary poems on spirituality, inspired by the Seven Valleys and "troubles of the affairs of mortal nature."
  64. Howard Colby Ives. Song Celestial, The (1938). Book-length poem about the search for God, in which a seeker asks God various questions, and God responds.
  65. Dawn Staudt. Songs of the Spirit: A Collection of Poems Written during the Fast 2003 and 2004 (2004).
  66. Duane L. Herrmann. Sweet Scented Dreams: Poems for Devotion (2011). Selection of twelve poems of a devotional nature from a Bahá'í perspective, some previously published individually.
  67. Amin Banani. Táhirih: A Portrait in Poetry (2000). An account of Tahirih allowing her own voice, through her poems, to speak for herself, her time, and her motivations; it is her poetry that both reveals the layers of her complex motivations and makes her accessible.
  68. Ruhiyyih (Mary Maxwell) Khanum. This is Faith (1954). One poem.
  69. Abu'l-Qasim Faizi. Three Meditations on the Eve of November Fourth (1970). Essays and poems written by Hand of the Cause A.Q. Faizi on the evening of Shoghi Effendi's death, November 4 1957.
  70. Anthony Lee. Translating Rumi (2016). Reflections on the challenge for a translator to bring a poem from one language and culture into another, while remaining true to both the spirit and the meaning of the original. Includes samples of Rumi's poetry.
  71. Vahid Chittleborough. Two poems: "A Portrait of Time" and "Surrender" (1995).
  72. Sheila Banani. Two Poems: The Muse, Don Quixote (2003).
  73. Hugh McKinley. Two Poems: Threnody, Mystery of Life (2003).
  74. Verse (1986). Poems by Ruhiyyih Khanum, Giuseppe de Marco, Gilbert Robert, Martyn Burke, Audrey Marcus, Anneke Buys, Geoffrey Nash, Judith Partelow Provost, Adelbert Mühlschlegel, Larry Rowdon, Victor de Araujo, Shirin Sabri, Roger White, Bret Breneman, et al.
  75. Harry Liedtke. Wayfarer between Two Worlds, A: Recollections (2013). A chronicle of some of the highlights of the author's seventy-five years as a Bahá'í, and covering the years 1927-2022, including periods in Germany and Canada and historical events from each. Includes poems and photographs.
  76. Stanwood Cobb. What Is God? (1955). Poetic meditations on the nature of God and our search for the divine, "an attempt to open up vistas into the Infinite in a way that prose could not accomplish."
  77. Nabil-i-A'zam. Sepehr Manuchehri, trans. Whilst He Was in Suleymaniah: Extracts and poems from the memoirs of Nabil Zarandi (2002). Handful of short extracts and poems from the memoirs of Nabíl-i-A`zam [aka Mullá Muḥammad-i-Zarandí, aka Nabíl-i-Zarandí]. on the conduct of the Bábís in 'Iráq during Bahá'u'lláh's self-imposed exile. From Nabil's unpublished narrative.
  78. Jack McLean. Whispers of Angels: Poems (1990). A collection of 89 poems dedicated to the author's father.
  79. Marzieh Gail and Hilda Phillips. Wisdom and Wit of Roger White, The: Two Reviews (1987). Reviews of White's books One Bird One Cage One Flight and A Sudden Music.
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