Zen Master John Tarrant

For the first time, we are excited to announce we will have a Zen Master in Residence, John Tarrant, during the festival to help us ride the waves of sound and silence and teach us a thing or two about its relationship to the transformation of consciousness. John has taught meditation for over 40 years and is a poet and writer as well. He has worked with Jungian dream interpretation as a psychotherapist, has a long history of collaborating with artists, and has even been known to set ancient texts to music with a Cajun zydecko band. His innovative approach to meditation is accessible and gentle and through his use of koans as a method of awakening, John’s teaching can be particularly appealing to creative types.

We wouldn’t be surprised if we see him on a stage or two leading guided listening meditations, riffing on koans and poetry, chatting with attendees, or writing a Big Ears blog. You never know… Big Ears Festival programming is intentional — the creative diversity you can experience in one weekend is unprecedented.