Coleman Barks

American poet and translator best known for his interpretations of the thirteenth-century Persian mystic Rumi. A native of Tennessee and longtime professor at the University of Georgia, Barks does not read Persian — his "translations" are reinterpretations of earlier scholarly versions, rendered in the rhythms of contemporary American free verse. Through his books — The Essential Rumi, Rumi: The Big Red Book, The Soul of Rumi — Barks made Rumi the bestselling poet in America and introduced Sufi mystical poetry to millions of English readers.