If I’m speaking at an event that you’re organizing, you should find everything you might need media-wise below, but don’t hesitate to contact me if you don’t find what you’re looking for!
Full Bio
There’s also a 100-word bio on my about page.
Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma is an author, poet, translator, teacher, magician, musician, and lover of life. Since 2001 he has devoted his life to the highest possibilities of words and their power to join our hearts across time and place.
He was born in Seattle, Washington, and has lived and worked in Tamil Nadu, India, and Oaxaca, Mexico. His new translation of the classical Tamil masterpiece on ethics, power, and love, THE KURAL: Tiruvalluvar’s Tirukkural, appeared in January 2022 from Beacon Press. Other books include The Safety of Edges (poems), Give, Eat, and Live: Poems of Avvaiyar (translated from the Tamil) and Body and Earth: Notes from a Conversation (with the artist C. F. John). He is currently at work on a translation of and a book about Juan Rulfo’s masterpiece, Pedro Páramo.
He also delights in speaking, teaching, and performing internationally, combining poetry, story, magic, and song in talks and presentations for the young and old alike. His solo shows include Riches of the Ear: Words, Wonder, and Tiruvalluvar’s Tirukkural and A Thousand Thanks: The Gift of Sadako and Her Cranes. He serves as Language Consultant for the Cozy Grammar series of online video courses and has received grants and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, 4Culture, Artist Trust, the Community of Writers, the U.S. Fulbright Program, the American Literary Translators Association, Ohio State University, Oberlin Shansi, and Oberlin College.
Thomas makes his home on Vashon Island, Washington, with his husband, David Mielke.
thomaspruiksma.com
Author Photos
Right click (in Windows) or control click (on a Mac) to download the image.
Please contact me if you need a high-resolution image suitable for print media.
I prefer the first headshot on the left, but you are welcome to use whichever may best fit the context in which you are using it.
Photo Credit: David Mielke
Photo Credit: David Mielke
Photo Credit: David Mielke
Photo Credit: Michelle Bates
Photo Credit: Michelle Bates
Book Covers
Right click (in Windows) or control click (on a Mac) to download the image.
Please contact me if you need a high-resolution image suitable for print media.
Video Links and Social Media
The video link I would most recommend are the Kural Videos.
Kural Videos: https://thomaspruiksma.com/category/kural/verses/
Kural Conversations: https://thomaspruiksma.com/category/kural/conversations/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thpruiksma
Facebook: @thpruiksma
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thpruiksma/
