{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"134. Thomas H. Pruiksma with Dr. Ruben Quesada: A New Translation of The Kural","description":"The Tirukku\u1e5fa\u1e37, or Kural, for short, is considered a masterpiece of universal philosophy, ethics, and morality. Traditionally attributed to Thiruvalluvar, also known as Valluvar, the original text has been dated from 300 BCE to 5th century CE. The classic Tamil work is one of the most cited and translated ancient texts in existence; it has been translated into over 40 Indian and non-Indian languages and has never been out of print since its first publication in 1812. In a new translation of the Kural, Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma brings English readers closer than ever to the brilliant inner and outer music of Tiruvalluvar\u2019s work and ideas. The work consists of 1,330 short philosophical verses, or kurals, that together cover a wide range of personal and cosmic experiences, such as \u2014 Politics: Harsh rule that brings idiots together\u2014nothing Burdens the earth more Friendship: Friendship is not a face smiling\u2014friendship Is a heart that smiles Greed: Those who won\u2019t give and enjoy\u2014even with billions They have nothing Drawing on the poetic tradition of W. S. Merwin, Wendell Berry, and William Carlos Williams, and nurtured by two decades of study under Tamil scholar Dr. K. V. Ramakoti, Pruiksma\u2019s translation transforms the barrier of language into a bridge, bringing the fullness of Tiruvalluvar\u2019s poetic intensity to a new generation. In the 134th episode of Town Hall\u2019s In the Moment podcast, Pruiksma discusses his translation of the Kural with poet, editor, and translator, Dr. Ruben Quesada. Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma is an author, poet, performer, and teacher. His books include The Safety of Edges and Give, Eat, and Live: Poems of Avvaiyar. Pruiksma teaches writing for Cozy Grammar and has received grants and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, 4Culture, Artist Trust, the Squaw Valley Community of Writers, the US Fulbright Program, the American Literary Translators Association, and Oberlin Shansi. Ruben Quesada, Ph.D. is editor of Latinx Poetics: Essays on the Art of Poetry (University of New Mexico Press, 2022) and author of Revelations (Sibling Rivalry Press, 2018), Next Extinct Mammal (Greenhouse Review Press, 2011), and translator of Selected Translations of Luis Cernuda (Aureole Press, 2008). Dr. Quesada has served as an editor for AGNI, Pleiades, and The Kenyon Review. His writing appears in Best American Poetry, Ploughshares, and Harvard Review. He is an Associate Teaching Fellow at The Attic Institute and teaches for the UCLA Writers\u2019 Program. He lives in Chicago. Buy the Book: The Kural\u2014Tiruvalluvar\u2019s Tirukkural: A New Translation of the Classical Tamil Masterpiece on Ethics, Power and Love Presented by Town Hall Seattle. To become a member or make a donation click here.  ","author_name":"In The Moment podcast","author_url":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/podcasts\/in-the-moment-podcast\/","html":"