Ink of Light

This biographical novel presents the story of the French scholar Eva de Vitray-Meyerovitch, French translator of Mevlana, more familiarly known as Rumi. The book takes the form of a dialog between this female 20th century scholar and Mevlana, who lived in 13th century Turkey. The book is structured in 12 chapters. There are 12 parts to the sema dance of the Whirling Dervishes, the dervish group founded by Mevlana. The progression of the 12 parts of this ceremony mirrors the stages of both the life of Eva de Vitray and Rumi himself. The three are interviewed in a captivating manner. Each sema section is described at the beginning of a chapter to enhance the feeling of ritual in the book and how it feeds into her itinerary.

Katharine Branning is Vice-President of the French Institute Alliance Française in New York City, where she serves as the Director of FIAF’s Library. She was awarded the Ordre National du Mérite from the President of France in 2006, one of the nation’s highest honors. As an independent researcher, she has conducted annual field work relative to architecture and decorative arts in Turkey.