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Remembering poet, writer and translator Coleman Barks

The poet and writer Coleman Barks died last month at the age of 88. He was well known for his translations of the works of the 13th-century Persian mystic poet Jalaluddin Rumi. Coleman Barks even appears on a Coldplay album, “A Head Full of Dreams,” reading a translation of Rumi’s “The Guest House.”

Here & Now‘s Lisa Mullins talks to Coleman Barks’s sister, Elizabeth Barks Cox, who is also a writer, about his life and work.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2026 WBUR

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