Coleman Barks is an American poet and scholar best known for his translations of the 13th-century Persian poet Rumi. Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1937, Barks studied English literature at the University of North Carolina and the University of California, Berkeley. He taught poetry and creative writing at the University of Georgia for over 30 years. Barks’ translations of Rumi’s work have been widely praised for their lyrical beauty and spiritual depth. His books include The Essential Rumi, The Soul of Rumi, and The Illuminated Rumi. He has also written several collections of his own poetry, including The Juice: Poems by Coleman Barks and The Purity of Desire: 100 Poems of Rumi. Barks has been honored with numerous awards, including the Lannan Literary Award for Poetry, the Georgia Writers Association Lifetime Achievement Award, and the American Academy of Poets’ Wallace Stevens Award. He has also been featured in the documentary film, The Love Poet. Barks continues to write and lecture on Rumi’s poetry and its relevance to modern life.