Pure Water: Poetry of Rumi by Coleman Barks

The first time I ever heard of Rumi was when I watched The Language of Life series by Bill Moyers. It must have been in the mid to late 90's. I fell in love with the Sufi mystic's take on life and God and love and... Well, you get the idea. I have read a couple of books of Barks's translations. They are always worth it.

There is something soothing about the voice of Coleman Barks. After spending his life translating the works of Rumi, he can read the poems like no other. In addition to Rumi's works, Barks also reads a few of his own poems. I rather enjoyed that.

If you have never heard of Rumi, or if you are a fan, this audibook is a good listen.

To This Day: For the Bullied and Beautiful by Shane Koyczan

I don’t talk much about it anymore, but I was bullied a lot as a kid. The biggest, baddest kid in the school didn’t like me. A small Catholic school where most of the other students had been in the same class since kindergarten and I was the new kid in sixth grade. It hurt. It still hurts.

That is the message behind this short book by Shane Koyczan. The wounds from being bullied never go away completely. They affect us “to this day.” In reading the poem I had flashbacks to what it was like for me. In reading his experiences I saw my own.
This is an amazingly poignant and heartfelt piece of spoken word poetry. It was illustrated by around thirty different artists who took turns making visual images to go with the words. This is similar to the video that was animated by many artists, but not identical.

I will find a copy or two or three of this and add them to my personal and classroom libraries. I urge you to read it as soon as you can.