Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma

author, poet, teacher, and performer

Thunder & Sweetness

I was honored to offer a talk in English and Tamil as the chief guest for the 2021 Awards Ceremony of the Tamil Literary Garden online on June 11, 2022.

Turn on subtitles for English translations of the Tamil sections.

You can also watch the complete Awards Ceremony here:

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

Kural 90: The Kural on Hospitality

A verse on hospitality and delicacy.

90
Anicham flowers wilt when smelt—a guest wilts
When a face turns sour

மோப்பக் குழையும் அனிச்சம் முகந்திரிந்து
நோக்கக் குழையும் விருந்து

From chapter 9, “Hospitality.”

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

Kural 1027: The Kural on Family and Strength

A verse on ability and responsibility.

1027
Like the strong-hearted in battle—those able in family
Bear the weight

அமரகத்து வன்கண்ணர் போலத் தமரகத்தும்
ஆற்றுவார் மேற்றே பொறை

From chapter 103, “Serving Family.”

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

Kural 489: The Kural on Taking Action in Time

A verse on timing, opportunity, and acting without waiting.

489
When the rare moment arrives do what is rare
Without waiting

எய்தற் கரிய தியைந்தக்கால் அந்நிலையே
செய்தற் கரிய செயல்

From chapter 49, “Knowing Time.”

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

Between Silence and Speech: A Kural Conversation with Shin Yu Pai

The Fruits of Right Speech

With the award-winning writer, photographer, editor, and curator Shin Yu Pai, I was delighted to speak about awareness, silence, fruit, and thunder as reflected in THE KURAL: Tiruvalluvar’s Tirukkural.

Here are a few highlights and where in the video you can find them:

  • Clear seeing 6:29
  • Cultural roots and notions of gender and silence 11:35
  • Discriminating awareness 19:26
  • Living with a verse as one lives with a koan 26:29
  • Fruit as experience, memory, and metaphor 30:37
  • Being able to thunder as an advisor and as a friend 39:05

Shin Yu Pai

Shin Yu Pai is the author of eleven books, including most recently Virga (Empty Bowl, 2021). In 2020, Entre Rios Books published Ensō, a 20-year survey of her work across creative disciplines including photography, book arts, public art, performance, personal essay and poetry. From 2015 to 2017, Shin Yu served as the Poet Laureate of The City of Redmond. She is a 2022 Artist Trust Fellow and was shortlisted in 2014 for a Stranger Genius Award in Literature. Her essays have appeared in Atlas Obscura, Gastronomica, ANMLY, Off Assignment, Zocalo Public Square, Tricycle, YES! Magazine, Seattle Met, and South Seattle Emerald. Her poetry films have screened at The Zebra Poetry Film Festival in Berlin and Northwest Film Forum. Shin Yu is a three-time fellow of MacDowell and has been an artist in residence at Taipei Artist Village, Centrum, The Ragdale Foundation, and The Pacific Science Center. She hosts, writes, and produces The Blue Suit, a podcast for KUOW on Asian American stories that will launch in July 2022.

https://shinyupai.com/

Here are the key verses we talked about, in both English and Tamil:

192
Fruitless speech before many—worse
Than heartlessness to friends

பயனில பல்லார்முன் சொல்லல் நயனில
நட்டார்கண் செய்தலின் தீது

194
Fruitless and denatured words in an assembly
Destroy goodness and grace

நயன்சாரா நன்மையின் நீக்கும் பயன்சாராப்
பண்பில்சொல் பல்லா ரகத்து

196
He who celebrates words without fruit—not a son
But the husk of a man

பயனில்சொற் பாராட்டு வானை மகனெனல்
மக்கட் பதடி யெனல்

199
Those who see truth with clear eyes never lapse
Into words without meaning

பொருடீர்ந்த பொச்சாந்துஞ் சொல்லார் மருடீர்ந்த
மாசறு காட்சி யவர்

200
Speak speech that bears fruit—never speech
That bears nothing

சொல்லுக சொல்லிற் பயனுடைய சொல்லற்க
சொல்லிற் பயனிலாச் சொல்

From chapter 20, “Freedom from Fruitless Speech.”

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

Kural 468: The Kural on Right Action

A verse on clarity before action and right effort.

468
Without right effort all effort miscarries
Even with many who care

ஆற்றின் வருந்தா வருத்தம் பலர்நின்று
போற்றினும் பொத்துப் படும்

From chapter 47, “Clarity Before Action.”

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

VOCE Dialogue with Chloë Goodchild

I was delighted to discuss compassion, poetry, the Tirukkural, leadership, voice, silence, and much more with the wonderful Chloë Goodchild on her VOCE Dialogues Podcast.

You can listen to the podcast by way of this link:

https://podcast.chloegoodchild.com/411616/10598385-ep-39-thomas-hitoshi-pruiksma-author-poet-translator-teacher

Chloë is the founder of The Naked Voice, a pioneering experiential vocal training programme, providing a sound awareness toolkit of conscious core practices, music, audio-books and spoken meditations that empower you to find and to embody your authentic voice.

Kural 545: The Kural on Leadership and Abundance

A verse on good governance and the abundance of the earth.

545
Where kings rule as wisdom decrees
Rain and harvest abound

இயல்புளிக் கோலோச்சும் மன்னவன் நாட்ட
பெயலும் விளையுளும் தொக்கு

From chapter 55, “Good Rule.”

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

NOT BEING DEFEATED BY ADVERSITY | Three Lessons in Aliveness and Resilience | Free Webinar  LEARN MORE
close
open