About us

Welcome!

The Poetry Translation Centre was established by the poet Sarah Maguire in 2004, to introduce new audiences to leading poets from around the world, as well as better understand and celebrate the diverse communities who have made their home in the UK. We focus on poetry from Africa, Asia and Latin America, working collaboratively with poets and translators to bring new work to English-speaking audiences in the UK. International poets we have worked with include Coral Bracho, Mohan Rana and Al-Saddiq Al-Raddi.

Our translations begin at our regular workshops, where poets, translators and poetry enthusiasts work towards new English versions of poems, starting with a literal or ‘close’ translation. These workshops are also where new poets are discovered and new collaborations are formed. The final version of each poem is completed either in the workshops themselves or by pairs of English-language poets and translators who we invite to work in partnership.

Our website is a free archive of international poetry. We display the final version of each poem we translate alongside the original language text, the literal translation and notes on the process, making our translations completely transparent. We also create dual-language recordings of our poems so that everyone can experience the poems in their original language.

We publish chapbooks as well as fuller anthologies with Bloodaxe Books. We have also regularly brought international poets to the UK for tours, starting with our first World Poets Tour in 2005.

Translation is the lifeblood of poetry. Through the Poetry Translation Centre’s work we want to enrich the English poetic tradition and encourage our poets to form friendships across borders. We also want to open windows onto the many cultures that live side by side in the UK, especially those that have been sidelined or misunderstood. By making diverse poetries at home in English we aim to celebrate the UK’s many literary traditions, and invite everyone to play a role in British cultural life.

If you are interested in using one of our translations in a project please get in touch with us at permissions@poetrytranslation.org.

The Poetry Translation Centre is proud to work with Bloodaxe Books: