Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma reads at the Vashon Bookshop

Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma will read from his latest book at the Vashon Bookshop on Thursday, March 10, at 6pm.

Twelve years ago, the south Indian artist C. F. John invited Pruiksma to write a book with him on the topic of body and earth. Their collaboration and conversation, conducted in person and through letters, has culminated in “Body and Earth: Notes from a Conversation,” recently published in Kerala, India. Through a combination of words and images, the book reflects on the ways that our experience of the body and the earth connects in language, poetry, art, spirituality, and daily life.

Shortly before his death, the writer and critic U. R. Anantha Murthy wrote, “This book has moved me so deeply that I don’t want to use cliché words like ‘profound’ or ‘great.’ I felt that I was present in the book when I read it, because each section made me think of something I’ve been thinking, something I’ve been doing.”

The book is currently available only in India, with the exception of the Vashon Bookshop and through Pruiksma himself.

Thomas Pruiksma is a writer, poet, and translator, and in addition to teaching at StudentLink and tutoring island students, he performs his “Poet’s Magic”—a unusual combination of poetry, storytelling, and magic—around the region.

He and C. F. John are currently at work on a companion volume entitled “Body and Spirit: Reflections on Āndāl and St. Francis.” It delves into questions of religion and ecology through the lens of John’s paintings of St. Francis and Pruiksma’s translations of the 8th century poet Āndāl, revered by Tamil Hindus as a female saint.

The 6pm reading will be followed by a Q&A and book signing.