Coleman Barks was born and raised in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and was educated at the University of North Carolina and the University of California at Berkeley. He taught poetry and creative writing at the University of Georgia for thirty years. He is the author of numerous Rumi translations and has been a student of Sufism since 1977. His work with Rumi was the subject of an hour-long segment in Bill Moyers's Language of Life series on PBS, and he is a featured poet and translator in Bill Moyers's poetry special, "Fooling with Words." Coleman Barks is the father of two grown children and the grandfather of four. He lives in Athens, Georgia.

Upcoming Appearances

October 16, 2008

Reading and discussion at the showing of the film,

This Thursday night, 8 pm, showing of this new Rumi documentary, "Rumi Returning,"will be in the mai...

October 20, 2008

Reading/Concert at the Lensic Theatre in Santa Fe with Zuleikha and musicians

A Monday night reading, 7:30 pm, with Glen Velez (world percussion), David Darling (cello),Rahim Al-...

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