PAUL BALLANFAT – THE NIGHTINGALE IN THE GARDEN OF LOVE

Born in 1490, Hazret-i Pir-i Üftade was one of the great masters of Ottoman Sufism at the height of that Empire, and founder of the Celvetiyye order. His primary focus was not on writing (this collection of poems is one of the few pieces of his writing that still survives), and most of what we know of him is courtesy of his favourite disciple, ʿAziz Mahmud Hüdayi, who kept a near-daily journal of the spiritual education that he received from his master.

Üftade was not, strictly speaking, a mystical poet like Yunus Emre or Niyazi Misri, and these poems reflect, above all, his interior state and the advice he imparted to his disciples. Üftade is not connected to the line of Persian mystical poetry, and his simple poems belong in the category of religious songs that accompany ceremonies of collective invocation.

This important Divan is preceded by Paul Ballanfat’s detailed biography, in itself an extremely valuable document and perhaps the best available in English, which will introduce readers to the life, deep insight, and profound knowledge of this great spiritual figure.