A Poet of the Invisible World (32 page)
Read A Poet of the Invisible World Online
Authors: Michael Golding
He shook his head a few times. Then he balled up the paper, threw it onto the ground, and walked away.
Nima's heart thundered loudly in his chest. He could not imagine what the old man had written that could have angered Azad so. So he went to retrieve the crumpled page to find out.
He crouched down and raised it from the dirt, and as he pulled back its edges his mind flashed with images. Fierce constellations in a cobalt sky. Splashes of wine on a tufted divan. A boat crossing a slender sea. A ribbon of smoke curling up from a dying fire. When he smoothed out the paper to read it, however, he found, to his surprise, that it said:
Nothing.
Nothing.
Nothing.
Nothing.
He folded up the page and slipped it back into his trousers. Thenâfilled with an excitement he could not really explainâhe ran off through the clearing toward home.
Â
One can never acknowledge all the exchanges and encounters that find their way into the rich loam from which a novel grows. I'm grateful for all who shared their experience and understanding of the spiritual path.
Among the many books that aided me, I'm especially thankful for
A Sufi Rule for Novices,
translated and edited by Menahem Milson;
The Adventures of Ibn Battuta
by Ross E. Dunn;
A Dervish Textbook,
from the âAwarfu-i-Ma'arif of Sheikh Shahabuddin Suhrawardi, translated by Lieutenant Colonel H. Wilberforce Clarke;
Essential Sufism,
edited by James Fadiman and Robert Frager;
Daily Life in the Medieval Islamic World
by James E. Lindsey;
Divine Governance of the Human Kingdom
by Ibn âArabi, translated by al-Jerrahi al-Halveti;
The Sufis
by Idries Shah;
Islam
by Karen Armstrong;
Sufis of Andalusia
by lbn âArabi; and
Islamic Art and Spirituality
by Seyyed Hossein Nasr. Most of all, a deep bow to the great Sufi poets, whose beautiful light still dazzles.
I cannot imagine a more wonderful editor than Will Schwalbe. His passion for the book, from the first reading through the various stages of publication, and his warm friendship have been a blessing. Likewise, I could not have had a better team than the one at Picador: my publisher, Stephen Morrison, who is smart and kind and elegant; Emily Mahon and Henry Sene Yee, whose cover design is magical; Kolt Beringer, Emily Walters, and Kim Lewis, who went over the manuscript with a fine-tooth comb; Shannon Donnelly, James Meader, and Darin Keesler, who put their hearts into the marketing; Cassie Mandel and Isabella Alimonti for their media wizardry; and Bryn Clark and Kara Rota, whose intelligence and grace helped make the process a joy.
Every writer should be so lucky to have an agent like Gail Hochman; her huge heart and lightning mind are fantastic allies. Thanks also to Marianne Merola, Jody Klein, Lina Granada, Jody Kahn, and all the other folks at Brandt and Hochman.
For inspiration, courage, and love, I thank my son, Joshua. For a lifetime of unconditional love, I thank my mother. For her warm support, I thank my sister. For lessons in how to bring humor to life's struggles, I thank my father and my stepfather, both of whom are deeply missed.
To the many friends who have sustained me over the years, who have shared their stories and listened to mine, who have comforted me, taught me, and helped me to keep on, I'm forever indebted. A special thanks to Jean Taylor, Thomas Fenn, Jo Anna Mortensen, Mari Reeves, Elizabeth Blake, Jeanne Chapman, Brigid Moran, Daniel Labensohn, and Gwendolyn Marks for being the first to read, and for offering their loving encouragement.
There are no words to thank my teacher, Robert Burton, for he has taught me how to go beyond words. His love and unwavering insistence on what is true have changed my life.
Â
aash-e aloo
: a rich soup made with walnuts, spinach, peas, beans, and lentils
baghali polo
: rice mixed with lamb, dill, and fava beans
baslogh
: a pastry made of wheat flour and roasted walnuts
bureg
: pastry triangles filled with cheese
ceviche
: raw fish cured in citrus juice
dolmeh seeb zamini
: potatoes filled with ground meat, rice, and herbs
ghee
: clarified butter
kashk
: a fermented dairy product made from yogurt
kefir
: a fermented milk drink
khabisa
: a sweet made of walnuts, honey, and starch
khoofteh berenji
: large balls of rice, ground meat, onions, walnuts, and herbs
khoresht annar-aveej
: a stew made of chicken, walnuts, pomegranate juice, and garlic
khoresht baadenjaan
: a stew made with meat, eggplant, onions, and lime juice
maast-o khiar
: yogurt mixed with cucumbers and mint
mirza ghasemi
: roasted eggplant in a tomato and garlic sauce, with egg
naan-e barbari
: a furrowed, oval-shaped flatbread
naan-e sangak
: a large flatbread sprinkled with sesame seeds
naan-e taftoon
: a round, leavened bread sprinkled with poppy seeds
panir
: a cheese made by curdling heated milk with lemon juice
ranginak
: a sweet made of dried wheat flour, dates, walnuts, pistachios, cinnamon, and cardamom
shaami
: ground meat mixed with eggs, bread crumbs, milk, and tomatoes
sharbat-e limoo
: a drink made with fresh lime juice, honey, and water
tagine
: a stew cooked in an earthenware dish
yakh dar behesht
: a sweet made with rice flour, rosewater, pistachios, and milk
Â
M
ICHAEL
G
OLDING
's first novel,
Simple Prayers,
was published in 1994 and has been translated into nine foreign languages.
Benjamin's Gift,
his second novel, was published in 1999. He is also a screenwriter, whose works include the adaptation of Alessandro Baricco's
Silk
. He lives in the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas in Northern California. You can sign up for email updates
here
.
Â
ALSO BY
MICHAEL GOLDING
Simple Prayers
Benjamin's Gift
Â
Thank you for buying this
Picador ebook.
Â
To receive special offers, bonus content,
and info on new releases and other great reads,
sign up for our newsletters.
Â
Or visit us online at
us.macmillan.com/newslettersignup
Â
For email updates on the author, click
here
.
Â
Contents
Â
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.
A POET OF THE INVISIBLE WORLD
. Copyright © 2015 by Michael Golding. All rights reserved. For information, address Picador, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.twitter.com/picadorusa
â¢
www.facebook.com/picadorusa
Picador
®
is a U.S. registered trademark and is used by St. Martin's Press under license from Pan Books Limited.
For book club information, please visit
www.facebook.com/picadorbookclub
or e-mail [email protected].
Cover design by Emily Mahon
Cover art by Colorjuli/Shutterstock
The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
ISBN 978-1-250-07128-6 (trade paperback)
ISBN 978-1-250-07130-9 (e-book)
e-ISBN 9781250071309
Our e-books may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at (800) 221-7945, extension 5442, or by e-mail at [email protected].
First Edition: October 2015