13th century Sufi poet-philosopher and mystic Movlana Jalal-Ad Din Balkhi Rumi is 800 on Sunday. The Western world has relatively recently discovered “Rumi.” Here, his magnificent poetry is largely seen as secular in its praise of wine, music and romance — even eroticism. But in his native Iran, he was — and is — so much more. His work is very much immersed in an Islamic tradition.

My first exposure to Rumi was intense and laid the groundwork for I’m sure will be a life-long appreciation of his work. For that I am thankful. Renewed and intensified appreciation comes from this hour long interview with Fatemeh Keshavarz, a professor of Persian & Comparative Literature at Washington University in St. Louis. This comes from SpeakingOfFaith.org, one of my more surprising discoveries of late.

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