Coleman Barks (born April 23, 1937) is an American

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

and former literature faculty member at the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

. Although he neither speaks nor reads

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

, he is a popular

interpreter Interpreting is translation from a spoken or signed language into another language, usually in real time to facilitate live communication. It is distinguished from the translation of a written text, which can be more deliberative and make use o ...

Rumi Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī (), or simply Rumi (30 September 1207 – 17 December 1273), was a 13th-century poet, Hanafi '' faqih'' (jurist), Maturidi theologian (''mutakallim''), and Sufi mystic born during the Khwarazmian Empire ...

, rewriting the poems based on other English translations.

Early life and education

Barks is a native of

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Tennessee River and borders Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the south. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, it is Tennessee ...

. He attended the

Baylor School Baylor School, commonly called Baylor, is a private school, private, coeducational college-preparatory school in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1893, the school's current campus comprises 690 acres and enrolls students in grad ...

, then the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

and the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

. Barks was a student of the Sufi

Shaykh Sheikh ( , , , , ''shuyūkh'' ) is an honorific title in the Arabic language, literally meaning "elder (administrative title), elder". It commonly designates a tribal chief or a Muslim ulama, scholar. Though this title generally refers to me ...

Bawa Muhaiyaddeen.

Career

Barks taught literature at the

for three decades. Barks makes frequent international appearances and is well known throughout the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

. Barks' work has contributed to an extremely strong following of Rumi in the English-speaking world. Due to his work, the ideas of

Sufism Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

have crossed many cultural boundaries over the past few decades. Barks received an honorary doctorate from

University of Tehran The University of Tehran (UT) or Tehran University (, ) is a public collegiate university in Iran, and the oldest and most prominent Iranian university located in Tehran. Based on its historical, socio-cultural, and political pedigree, as well as ...

in 2006. He has also read his original

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

at the Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival. In March 2009, Barks was inducted into the Georgia Writers' Hall of Fame.

Rumi interpretations

Barks has published several volumes of his interpretations of Rumi's poetry since 1976, including ''The Hand of Poetry, Five Mystic Poets of Persia'' in 1993, ''The Essential Rumi'' in 1995, ''The Book of Love'' in 2003 and ''A Year with Rumi'' in 2006.

Controversies

Barks has been criticized for removing references to Islam from the poetry of Rumi.

Original poetry

Barks has published several volumes of his own poetry, including ''Gourd Seed'', "Quickly Aging Here", ''Tentmaking'', and, in 2001, ''Granddaughter Poems'', a collection of his poetry about his granddaughter, Briny Barks, with illustrations by Briny. Harper published his first book of poetry, ''The Juice'', in 1972.

Discography

* * * * * * * * *

Other credits

References

External links

*
Four new translations of Rumi by Barks

The Erasure of Islam from the Poetry of Rumi
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barks, Coleman 1937 births Living people American male poets American spoken word poets American Sufis American translators American Iranologists Poets from Tennessee Sufi poets University of California, Berkeley alumni University of Georgia faculty University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni Writers from Chattanooga, Tennessee 20th-century American poets 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American poets 21st-century American male writers