About us

Endorsements

General

As an Iranian-born poet, I have always felt keenly the invisibility of my original poetic heritage, and that of countries like mine, despite the presence of our large immigrant communities. Thanks to the Poetry Translation Centre, we are now being made visible in ways essential to a deeper understanding of where we come from, who we are, how we think and feel. The PTC's work is invaluable in giving us a live and vibrant voice in British poetry, and in expanding the horizons of the language and culture so many of us have made a home in. 
Mimi Khalvati, Poet and Founder of The Poetry School

If the richness of the ethnic diversity in Britain is to be more than political rhetoric, it has to include access to each other's cultural heritage. Poetry is an enormously important aspect of many of the cultures represented in this country, and translation of this work breaks down barriers.  It is vital that the translations be of high quality – that is, that their quality as English poems reflects the original.  In this, the Poetry Translation Centre is doing crucial work. 
Carole Satyamurti, Poet

The Poetry Translation Centre is a vitally important enterprise that is already playing a crucial role in broadening the horizons of British poetry and establishing a meaningful dialogue between British and other cultures. It provides a unique and significant forum for interactions between poets and translators from around the world. At a time when cultures must mobilize all their resources to resist the insidious temptations of insularity and nationalism, the Poetry Translation Centre is an exemplary institution that makes possible just the kinds of interchange that matter most.
Mark Ford, Poet and Professor of English, University College London

Workshops

Like other writers, translators greatly benefit from having a community to turn to when struggling with difficulties. I began translating seriously over two years ago and I have found The Poetry Translation Centre extremely invaluable as a resource centre for translators from non-European languages. I have benefited enormously by getting feedback on my own translations and discussing poems brought in by other translators. This has made the process of translation much more engaging, especially when cultural differences which inform the poems have also been discussed. The PTC website is also a brilliant way to get the poems out into the world.
Choman Hardi, Poet and Translator

In contrast to the theoretical approach to translation offered by many institutions in the UK, Sarah Maguire's 'hands-on' workshop is refreshing and exciting. It seems to me that this way of tackling translation is most true to the task at hand. I find this close relationship with the nuts and bolts of language and the process of a poem transforming from one language into another completely fascinating. I value the opportunity to participate so closely in this transformation. Through the workshop, I have had the chance to engage with voices from other languages and cultures, poets previously untranslated into English that I would never have otherwise had access to. I consider this to have been a privilege. In this respect I would say that the workshops have been invaluable, even life-changing.
Gwen MacKeith, Translator and Doctoral Student

I have been attending the workshops run by the Poetry Translation Centre regularly since the beginning of February 2005, and it has been an extremely rewarding experience. I come from Egypt and have been working and studying in England for the best part of the past four years. It has always struck me how scarce translations of contemporary Arabic literature are, and how hard to find in the English-speaking world (more so poetry, but also literature in general). I was thrilled to find the centre because it seemed to promote the ideas that I believe in, and to share the motivations that got me interested in translation in the first place: language and literature as a basis for cultural exchange.

My initial excitement was confirmed, as during the few months that I have been involved with the Centre I found myself learning about other languages, meeting people from different cultures, and getting to know the work of poets I knew little about before. It has also been a cherished revelation how much creative productivity can come out of translating as a group. In trying to explain the contexts of words to each other, we come to think of composite meanings and cultural references in our own languages that we may have never stopped at before. We shape and reshape the verses in English, and there is never a boring moment. There is so much we still need to learn from each other and the PTC provides us with a vitally important opportunity to do so. 

Nariman Youssef, Student, Web developer, and Translator

As a student of Arabic poetry, the Poetry Translation Centre has given me far more than just the practical experience of poetry translation. Through its workshops, events, internet postings and above all the dedication of those involved in it, the Centre’s work connects us to the poetry, life and culture of many different peoples across the world.  Through poetry, the Centre has become a global forum for exchanging ideas, building networks and promoting understanding between different communities. In an increasingly polarized world, the Centre’s value lies in the two-way cultural dialogue between communities that it promotes. 
Anna Murison, Translator

As a Gujarati living in Britain, and as the vice-president of the Gujarati Literary Academy of UK, one of my worries has been that our next generation born and brought up in Britain and other Western countries is going to remain deprived of their heritage language. As a librarian, I have come across many translations done in India that do not appeal to readers whose first or preferred reading language is English since they are so badly done and often include glaring grammatical and spelling errors.

By attending the PTC's workshops, I’ve found that with the active participation of members with a varying degree of mastery over a range of languages, we are able to ensure that the beauty of the original language of the poetry we translate is kept intact, and yet the translated poem reads as though it has been written in English.
Bhadra Patel-Vadgama, Translator and Vice-President of the Gujarati Literary Academy of UK

I have very much enjoyed and benefited from the translation workshops I have attended, and have been struck by the way that the discussions and the struggle to make sense goes far beyond the immediate task of rendering a particular poem in English. What is at stake is the attempt by people of widely differing backgrounds to understand and value each other.  This is absolutely at the heart of what needs to happen in this country now.
Carole Satyamurti, Poet

Podcasts

Just to say that these podcasts are absolutely brilliant. I am full of admiration for the work Sarah Maguire and others at the Poetry Translation Centre have done. It brings to us wonderful poetry, enriches all our lives, broadens our horizons, and helps to bridge cultural divides.
Peter Wood

This is great news [about Al-Saddiq Al-Raddi's podcast] and beautiful listening. I have forwarded the link to my colleagues in Sudan and to the British Council literature team in London.
David Codling, former Director of the British Council in Sudan

2008 World Poets’ Tour

What a marvellous eye-opener into the culture and life of Tajikistan and Iran.  Such a powerful bridge across the present – so unfortunate – gulf.
Audience member, SOAS, London, 17 October 2008

I was incredibly moved by the intimacy of the event.  Good venue, lots of people of different cultures and I enjoyed seeing the interaction between the poets.  There seemed to be a real respect for each other and a lovely sense that they appreciated the process of sharing.
Audience member, Manchester Central Library, 21 October 2008

The event as a whole was well-planned – 3 sessions and 2 intervals – which prevented loss of concentration and allowed informal contact with the poets, book-signing etc.  Such events are invaluable when the quality of the translation is both pleasing and convincing.  They provide information about difference and underline the shared humanity of other cultures.  Excellent occasion.
Audience member, Lancaster Litfest, November 2008

…the feeling was talking to people whom came to a number of events that this was one of the best events of Bristol Poetry Festival 2008…It was inspiring and energising.
Colin Brown, Poetry Can, Bristol

Many thanks for a great evening on the Canterbury stop of the World Poets’ Tour.  It was one of the most interesting and engaging poetry events I have attended, and the poems were very beautiful and powerful.
John Prebble, Canterbury Festival

Collaborations such as those with the PTC are extremely important to us, and we welcome the opportunity to bring people and poems together in a broader sense…. Sadly it’s often difficult to find poetry in translation, which is where the work of the Poetry Translation Centre is of vital importance.
Scottish Poetry Library (from Poetry Reader, issue 4, winter 2008)

2005 World Poets’ Tour

This is a belated thank you for staging the most excellent evening of  Poetry in Translation a week or two ago. I made the long journey south from Portsoy, specifically for the evening (fortunately able to stay with my son in Edinburgh) and I was not disappointed. It was a splendid evening of poetry. Hearing the circumstances in which the individual poets had produced their work was, in addition, a humbling and profound experience. Thank you again for a wonderful evening.
Audience member, Scottish Poetry Library

I just wanted to say thank you for all of your work in arranging the World Poets Tour. I thought the event in Cardiff went really well, and I hope that Partaw and Gaarriye enjoyed it. The Somali people who came to see Gaarriye were all thrilled that they were able to see him read in Cardiff.  I hope that you were all pleased with the way the whole tour went - it sounds like it was a huge success.
Elinor Robson, Academi, Cardiff

To have two such different languages together in the same room reminded me just how extraordinary our voices are. The poetry was great too, and two such generous and warm people – all very satisfying. Well done to you and many thanks - John
John Clarke, Beverley Lit Fest

Thank you too for putting it altogether. We thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a very successful afternoon- and great to meet the poets. It was also lovely how the poets stayed around and came to other events- we ended up with a world poets’ forum in the bar that evening, which culminated in some of our stewards singing an impromptu version of  On Ilkey Moor Bah''tat to demonstrate the local Yorkshire dialect! It was a great event- please pass on our heartfelt thanks. Look forward to working with you again sometime in the not-too-distant future.
Rachel Feldberg, Ilkley Lit Fest