In the past several years, more and more people have been asking to work with me one-on-one.
And although my schedule has gotten more and more full, here is the truth: I cherish this way of teaching immensely.
It allows me to offer something akin to what I have received from the great teachers who’ve graced and blessed my own life, sometimes over years and even decades—people such as my Tamil teacher Dr. K. V. Ramakoti, the farmer and poet Wendell Berry, the deprofessionalized intellectual Gustavo Esteva, and the philosopher, poet, and musician Jan Zwicky.
In my own work, one-on-one teaching and mentoring have played an important role for more than twenty-five years.
So rather than keep this aspect of my work an unintentional secret, I thought I should share publicly what I offer as a mentor, coach, and creative consultant.
Take a peek below, and don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. Sometimes astonishing possibilities have emerged from a single, seemingly off-hand comment.
Near perfect as a mentor
I attended a seminar on transcreation conducted by Mr Pruiksma and was impressed with his ear for linguistic nuances and taste for making translations more experiential. Hence when he offered translation mentorship, I immediately signed up for it. The mentorship has been deeply satisfying and I have learnt so much from Thomas. He has a knack for truly hearing one and we quickly and effortlessly got into the same frequency. I found it very easy to share with him my thoughts and ideas, without the necessity for convoluted explanations, which I honestly found quite novel. Thomas is very generous, with his time, ideas, effort and understanding, all of which he offers with the utmost friendliness and endearing sincerity. At the same time, he was near perfect as a mentor- He never overwhelmed me with his own intentions or opinions. Rather, he carefully steered me towards my own goals while helping to fill in the gaps in my knowledge or skills and whenever possible, offering me pertinent and refreshing alternative perspectives. He helped me rebuild my confidence after many prior negative experiences and reignited my love for language, poetry and textual creativity. I look forward with excitement to future collaborations with Thomas.
A Sample of One-on-One Engagements
- Mentoring emerging translators in Singapore working in Tamil and English.
- Helping a young writer from India now living in New York to reconnect to and learn Tamil, which he stopped speaking after the age of seven because of a family move from Chennai to Mumbai.
- Serving as a creative advisor to a young composer writing an oratorio in honor of his mother, a beloved Tamil orator who loved the Kural.
- Offering multifaceted and somatically informed coaching to singers, speakers, and actors to help their voices to ring forth with greater clarity and resonance.
- Advising both emerging and experienced writers on language and structure, offering suggestions and advice that can clarify and serve their intentions and help them reach a wider audience with their work.
Working with Saleem Hadi as a Singapore Book Council Mentor
Working one-on-one from our front patio!
- Helping artists discover the shape of a larger project they’ve gotten bogged down in.
- Teaching magic and sleight-of-hand as theatrical tools for teachers, speakers, and presenters.
- Offering individualized study in reading as a writer, writing for the stage, the history and structure of the English language, and world philosophy and inquiry.
Truly an enriching journey
Never ever have I felt this comfortable undergoing a mentorship online. Thomas’s approach as very refreshing, rewarding and inspiring, all at the same time. First, he listens to me so intently at every juncture on what I was actually trying to say along with what I said. That reading-between-the-lines skills of Thomas is very comforting. Though translation is very new to me, at no point he made me feel insecure. His depth of knowledge in translation comforted me at many times that I was in the right hands. I applaud the patience he practices and respect he gives to other writers’ works. Along with giving suggestions, he also explains the gravity of the words used and discusses the word choice(s) a translator makes. Thomas’s timely and critical feedback on my works motivated to push myself further. Sessions with Thomas also boosted my confidence in writing that I shocked myself when I started experimenting different approaches when it comes to translating works. Undergoing a mentorship with Thomas was truly an enriching journey.
Why I Love Working One-on-One
- Although I’ve taught formally at the middle school, high school, and college levels, I take delight in working with young people and adults one-on-one because in that format I can tailor what I offer as specifically as possible to a particular person’s situation, aspirations, and heart.
- I believe that at the center of all great teaching is an encounter between two human beings that is unique, loving, and deeply supportive. And when we dare to step beyond the confines of classrooms and institutions, we may discover extraordinary potential and creativity just waiting to burst forth.
- Working one-on-one allows for a degree of flexibility not usually found in contexts ruled by academic calendars. While I do have a minimum commitment (see details below) I am happy to work with people for whatever length of time truly serves their aims and aspirations. That way I can be both generous and balanced, neither overwhelming a student nor holding back from them what would clearly help them thrive.
Working with a young dancer.
What Underlies Everything I Do
While the different ways I work with people may seem widely varied, beneath the surface lie three key principles:
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A person’s expressive capacity, whether as a writer, translator, speaker, or performing artist, is directly enhanced by a deeper understanding of how creativity works from the inside.
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Words—whether written, spoken, acted, or sung—embody their most transformative and healing properties when we honor them not simply as ideas or concepts but as visceral and sonic and deeply felt forms of energy that can bring people’s hearts together across time and space.
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All forms of expression translate experience, bringing a story or insight or teaching from one context to another in a form that can speak across the borders of countries, groups, and languages.
What Working With Me Looks Like
- I’ve discovered that the minimum commitment in order for me to be effective is to meet for one hour at least twice a month for three months to start with. Even with people who wish to meet less than twice a month, I request this minimum for the first three months because it creates a solid foundation for ongoing work.
- Sessions are held via Zoom. While each session will be unique, they will also have a common shape. We begin by checking in with what’s been going on with you and what you’re hoping to look at in the session. Then we roll up our sleeves and get to work with equal measures of tenderness, attentiveness, depth, and good humor. It’s not uncommon that we might laugh or find tears in our eyes, perhaps even at the same time. Then we close by looking at the next step or steps for your project.
- After each one-hour session, I suggest specific tasks and guidelines to keep in mind leading up to our next meeting.
- There are two basic ways we can look at larger or ongoing projects:
- Sometimes we’re able to look at everything together in our two sessions each month. You may be surprised how much territory we can cover within that format.
- Normally all of my work is done within our scheduled sessions. Sometimes, however, for more detail-oriented projects, you may want me to spend time with your work outside of our sessions. In that case, you’ll want to add what I call a review session or two each month. In each review session, scheduled on my calendar, I dedicate an hour of my closest attention to your work, making comments, asking questions, and offering suggestions that we can then discuss in our next live session.
- During our first conversation, as I learn more about your work and intentions, I can give you a sense for which option may be more suitable. If more review time might be useful, I’ll also suggest whether one or two review sessions a month would make sense for your particular project.
- Since I work with people from different places and economies around the world, I have a collaborative process for determining the appropriate rate for each circumstance. Here is a range based on my experience and on what I’ve seen elsewhere for comparable offerings:
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The Brooklyn Institute for Social Research charges $200 and up for an hour-long session working one-on-one with their faculty.
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I’ve received as much as $250 to coach writing, working with an information technology developer wanting to blog about start-ups.
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At the other end, the lowest I am able to go with my current workload and commitments would be somewhere around $125 a session.
- My current range is thus between $125 to $200 per session, with $175 per session being ideal for most situations.
I am grateful to have learnt from Thomas
Through my mentorship, I have come to realise that translating poetry is a nuanced art. It demands a deep understanding of both the source and target languages, an appreciation of the cultural and emotional contexts within which the original poem was crafted and empathy within myself as the translator. My mentor, Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma, provided invaluable guidance on navigating the intricacies of poetry translation, imparting ways to balance fidelity to the original text with the need to create a resonant and impactful poem in the target language. Over six inspiring sessions, our discussions shaped my translation practice profoundly. He guided me to discover a pragmatic framework for exploration of the poem, drawing from his own experiences translating the Kural.
Throughout our sessions, Thomas provided feedback on my translations, gently pointing out other possibilities for phrasing and word choice. His comments were not prescriptive, rather they were exploratory, inviting me to consider various options and to trust my instincts. Thanks to the exercises and discussions I explored with Thomas, I gained insights and confidence to play and seek out how I can further experiment with my translations to infuse it with the poet’s lyricism and more.
When I was in secondary school, we had to paint Van Gogh’s room once during art class. I remember my art teacher said this to the class: “You need to draw a floor so that the things in the room don’t look like they are floating around.” This was how I felt about my understanding of the creative writing craft . All my gleanings from Creative Writing workshops and lectures felt as if they are orbiting in my head that I may recall on whim during the writing/editing process, lacking the structure and framework I craved. However, unlike my Creative Writing lessons, I feel that I have come away from my mentorship with Thomas equipped with what I need to translate poems, the ability to trust my inner knowing when entering a poem, when being in conversation with it, to sit with the poem, versions of it and much more. My mentorship with Thomas was an enriching experience that profoundly shaped my approach to poetry translation. I learned to see translation as a dynamic and creative process, one that requires both fidelity to the original and the freedom to explore new expressive possibilities. Through practical exercises and feedback, I learned to navigate the challenges of translation and to produce work that honours the spirit and artistry of the original poems. These lessons are invaluable. I deeply appreciate Thomas’s emphasis on the technical skills and deep empathy required to translate poems. This journey has not only improved my translation skills but also deepened my appreciation for the art of poetry itself. I am grateful to have learnt from Thomas.
Other Ways to Study With Me
For those who would like to work with me in other ways or for whom working one-on-one doesn’t feel as good a fit, here are a few other options:
- Each year I offer a course on the Kural called Taller Than a Mountain, which touches upon many of the topics people often wish to work with me on one-on-one: the art of listening, the inner life of words, the ways a great writer can touch our hearts. Take a peek and see if it may help you with your project as well.
- I also offer online courses through Tender Leaves Translation Courses, based in Singapore.
- For a comprehensive and highly affordable program on unlocking the secrets of language and connecting them to creativity, take a peek at Cozy Grammar’s Complete Curriculum for which I am a co-teacher. Our Complete Curriculum also gives you priority access to me for asking questions about the structure of English.
Interested? Let Me Know What You’re Thinking
After you’ve read these guidelines, fill out the form below and let me know what you’d like to do.
Once I’ve read the form you send in, if I think I might be able to be of service, we can schedule a first free conversation to discuss the possibility in greater depth.