Articles

'Importing a Passion for Poetry'

by Sarah Maguire

If we could read the poets that move huge audiences elsewhere in the world, would it wake up our own? On the Guardian's blog Sarah Maguire prescribes a course of translation to restore the vitality of British verse.

World Poets' Tour 2008 Kicks Off

by Julia Bird

Following the extraordinary success of the first World Poets’ Tour in 2005, the Poetry Translation Centre has organised its second World Poets’ Tour which begins on Sunday 7th September at the Bristol Poetry Festival.

'Finding an Audience'

by W N Herbert

Could there be an audience in Bristol eager to hear poetry from Somaliland and Sudan on a Sunday afternoon? W.N. Herbert is delighted to find there was. Read the blog for his account of the World Poets' Tour event at the Bristol Poetry Festival.

Translating Noshi Gillani

by Lavinia Greenlaw

Lavinia Greenlaw writes about the impact that listening to Noshi Gillani read her poems had on her translations: 'I had in my head Emily Dickinson's dashes - how they hold the parts of her poems in mid-air, or the artist Cornelia Parker's suspended cutlery and blown-up shed.'

'Singing About the Dark Times': Poetry and Conflict

by Sarah Maguire

Sarah Maguire argues that 'translating poetry is the opposite of war' in the keynote lecture that she was invited to give at the StAnza Festival in 2008.

'There is a Sudanese Culture'

by Richard Lea

This is an interview Saddiq gave to Richard Lea of Guardian Online during his Autumn Tour in 2006. 'In the face of Sudan's long conflict between the supposedly Arabic north and African south, Al-Saddiq Al-Raddi's poetry blends influences from both. Richard Lea meets him.'

An Interview with Gaarriye published in The Wolf

by James Byrne

Gaarriye was interviewed by James Byrne for The Wolf, just before his return to Somaliland following his participation in the 2005 World Poets' Tour.

Extract from an Interview with David Harsent published in The Wolf

by James Byrne

In an interview given to The Wolf, David Harsent discussed co-translating Somali poet, Gaarriye. A full version on the interview was published in The Wolf, no.11.

'Literary and Literal Giants'

by Susannah Tarbush

Susannah Tarbush reported on our World Poets' Tour Men's Night reading at the Brunei Gallery, SOAS, on 13th October, 2005. The article was published in The Saudi Gazette.

'Unbroken Chain'

by Kevin Rushby

Kevin Rushby wrote this article for The Guardian after meeting the WPT poets from Sudan, Afghanistan and Somaliland.

The World Poets Tour 2005 in Al-Sudani

by Al-Saddiq Al-Raddi

Al-Saddiq Al-Raddi wrote this piece about the 2005 World Poets' Tour for Al-Sudani, the leading independent newspaper in Sudan. The article is in Arabic.

'Found In Translation'

by Richard Lea

Richard Lea wrote this review of the World Poets' Tour Women's Night at the Brunei Gallery for the Guardian Culture Vulture blog.

PTC Poets Talk To BBC Radio 3's The Verb

To celebrate the PTC's World Poets' Tour, three poets - Gaarriye, his poet-translator, David Harsent and Sarah Maguire, were invited onto BBC Radio 3's The Verb.

'Emotions Translated': The Poetry Translation Centre's Launch

by Susannah Tarbush

This article by Susannah Tarbush for The Saudi Gazette celebrates the launch of The Poetry Translation Centre on 1st June, 2004.