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Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma

author, poet, teacher, and performer

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  • Books ⌄
    • THE KURAL: Tiruvalluvar’s Tirukkural
    • The Safety of Edges
    • Give, Eat, and Live: Poems of Avvaiyar
    • Body and Earth
    • A Feast for the Tongue
    • Juan Rulfo’s Pedro Páramo
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Prods us to approach art with all our heart

Although I had been writing and translating for a long time, I had many hesitations. A 3-month mentorship with Thomas gave me the confidence to trust my own intuition. He created a safe space for me to share my innermost fears and, through conversations, guided me to clarity. It wasn’t like Thomas was doling out advice; he was gently nudging me to explore and always highlighting that his suggestions were not the only way.

Thomas is a great teacher, and I could feel during our interactions that I was truly learning something—that something within me was changing. He has helped me not only with my translation but also in improving my own writing. I have attended countless creative writing workshops before, and most of them end up being too theoretical or too practical. The approach Thomas takes is neither; it’s spiritual. He subtly prods us to approach art with all our heart. And through his mentorship, I broke free from a lot of negativity and literary dogma I had accumulated over time. He helped me reconnect with my inner child, who from a young age wanted to tell stories simply for the spontaneous joy of it.

Happy to say I’m from the Thomas school. I hope he writes a book someday on translation and art. His perspectives deserve a wider audience!

Ram Chander
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