Lawler: So your family allowed for creative expression and reflection?
Barks: I grew up in an ecstatic family. Anybody at any
time could burst into song for any reason. My mother would
just dance around the house, singing. I recall those two minutes
at the end of the day when a golden light would fall across
the floor, especially in April. I would lie down in it and hug
myself. One time when I was doing that, I told my mother,
“Mama, I’ve got that full feeling again.” She said, “I know you
do, honey.” Rumi says just being sentient and in a body is
cause for rapture, and I think his reminding us of that is one
reason why he’s so popular.
excerpt interview with poet Coleman Barks (pdf)
