Poetry Translation Centre

Our workshops are open to anyone who can contribute a translation of a poem by a living African, Asian or Latin American poet who's already well-known in their own language. If you'd like to get involved, please read the information about how to translate with us.

The workshops begin with a language expert introducing us to the original poem, reading it aloud and explaining its cultural context. Next we look at the literal translation of the poem they've produced for us; this usually sounds very awkward in English since the idea is for it to be as close as possible to the original text. Our aim in the workshops is to transform this into a new poem in English.

Arriving at the translated poem involves deploying all the resources of English to find words and phrases that are true to the original yet which also convey its special qualities as a poem.

We put all three versions of the poem up on our website so you can see how our translations have emerged. Many of the final versions are produced collectively; others have been finished by an individual member of the group. Your comments are very welcome: translation is always a provisional and contingent activity!

See all the poems translated in our workshop or read on about the pairings of poets and translators...