Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma

author, poet, teacher, and performer

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The 11th World Tamil Conference

It was an enormous honor and delight to get to speak at the 11th World Tamil Conference in Kuala Kumpur, Malaysia, in July 2023.

Here are a few pictures! Click on the images to see them at full size.

I was amazed and humbled by how people have responded to several interviews that I gave during the conference. For those who know Tamil, here are a few videos along with their links.

https://www.facebook.com/KumudamOnline/videos/236726692652073/

https://www.facebook.com/SunNewsTamil/videos/817811433384949/

https://www.facebook.com/vanakkammalaysiadotcom/videos/1538386003597837/

I’m hoping to upload a few of these videos to my YouTube channel and add English subtitles. Once I do, you’ll be able to find them on this page as well.

A Greeting for the 11th World Tamil Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

I’m deeply honored to be participating in the 11th World Tamil Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on July 21-23, 2023, in which I’ll be speaking about my English translation of the Kural: Tiruvalluvar’s Tirukkural.

Watch on YouTube and turn on the captions for an English translation of this greeting in Tamil.

I invite you to learn more about my translation of the Kural as well as my translation of Avvaiyar, issued in a second edition in 2022 by Red Hen Press.

REMEMBERING TO FORGET: The Kural and Living Fully

I was delighted to write about verse 108 from the Kural in the wonderful online magazine The Porch: A Slow Conversation about Beautiful and Difficult Things.

You can read the essay here:

https://www.theporchcommunity.net/essays/2023/5/16/remembering-to-forget-the-kural-and-living-fully-thomas-hitoshi-pruiksma

You can also listen to verse 108 here:

108
Forgetting good done is not good—forgetting at once
What is not good—good

நன்றி மறப்பது நன்றன்று நன்றல்லது
அன்றே மறப்பது நன்று

From chapter 11, “Gratitude.”

Translated from the Tamil by Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma
THE KURAL: Tiruvalluvar’s Tirukkural
Beacon Press, Boston

Life and Learning in Harmony: A Tribute to Dr. K. V. Ramakoti

For Teacher Appreciation Week, I was honored to write about my Tamil teacher, the late Dr. K. V. Ramakoti, in the award-winning blog of Beacon Press, Beacon Broadside.

Without Dr. Ramakoti, I would never have dared to translate the Kural, let alone to teach about it and introduce it to English-speaking readers and leaders.

You can read the essay on the Beacon Broadside website: https://www.beaconbroadside.com/broadside/2023/05/life-and-learning-in-harmony-a-tribute-to-dr-k-v-ramakoti.html

Taller Than a Mountain

I’m very excited to announce my upcoming online course on the Kural, Taller Than A Mountain.
It starts May 18, with a bonus class on May 4 for people who register early.

A 7-week online course on the Kural, ancient wisdom from Tamil Nadu, India: TALLER THAN A MOUNTAIN. Embody strength, integrity, and love in a turbulent world. With translator Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma and distinguished guest teachers

Among my guest teachers I’m honored to include Andrew Harvey, Bob Thurman, and Perumal Murugan.

The course is being offered at a price that you set yourself as a way to practice one of the Kural’s key teachings: honoring what fits each person, place, and situation.

Who is it for?

Over the next couple of weeks, I’ll answer this question from a few different angles.

One of the groups it’s most definitely for are people who want to enjoy and learn from the poetry of a great teacher such as Tiruvalluvar but who sometimes find poetry intimidating, complicated, or just plain confusing.

For instance, I was having coffee the other day with a friend, and he said to me:

“I’ve been reading the Kural, and enjoying it, too. But while there are some verses that make so much sense to me immediately, there are others that I’m not sure what to make of. I never felt comfortable with poetry in school, but I know it’s something that people sometimes find deeply meaningful. I’d love to be able to see that for myself.”

As I said to my friend, not only is the course for people who are uncertain about poetry, I myself was like that for a very long time.

That’s why I’m all the more excited to share some of things that have helped me personally to experience poetry with greater ease, understanding, and delight.

If this sounds at all intriguing, please do take a peek!