Meet Our Grantee-Partner: World Poetry
World Poetry publishes English-language translations of poetry from a broad range of languages and traditions, bringing important works of the past and present from around the world to readers in high-quality, affordable editions.
Translators C. Francis Fisher and Kathleen Heil speak with moderator Mark Polizzotti for an event on Feminist Surrealism. Photo courtesy of World Poetry.
Mission: Supporting poetry translators and bringing out new translations of poetry from a broad range of languages and traditions, from the past and the present.
Peter Constantine and Brian Sneeden met in 2016 at the University of Connecticut (Storrs) where Constantine had been translating poetry for three decades and Sneeden had recently begun translating Modern Greek poetry. They identified a need for more publication support for poetry in translation and decided to start a publishing house dedicated to that purpose. Together, they founded World Poetry as a New York City-based nonprofit in 2017.
World Poetry publishes English-language translations of poetry from a broad range of languages and traditions, bringing important works of the past and present from around the world to readers in high-quality, affordable editions. It focuses on under-represented languages and authors who have not been widely available to English readers while amplifying the work of established and emerging poetry translators. World Poetry’s staff, board, and volunteers consist primarily of poets and writers who bring their passion for poetry to their work.
World Poetry’s growing publishing and events programs empower language communities, including new immigrants and heritage speakers, to engage with their literary tradition while promoting cross-cultural exchange. World Poetry partners with independent bookstores, cultural institutions, universities, and colleges to create these opportunities. These programs invite readers to experience diverse cultures and poetic traditions while increasing awareness of the frequently overlooked work of translators, many of them poets themselves, who make such literary exchanges possible.
In 2022, Matvei Yankelevich, formerly of Ugly Duckling Presse, joined World Poetry as the managing editor. Yankelevich moved the presses’ operation to Brooklyn, where World Poetry shares space with other small presses, including Belladonna and Litmus Press. World Poetry grew its staff, hiring a publicity director and development director. World Poetry started the Colloquy series that same year to create a forum for translators working in all genres to engage with live audiences in exploration of the art of translation.
While increasing its New York City presence, World Poetry continues to work with the Humanities Institute and the Translation Program at the University of Connecticut, offering publishing internships, sponsoring student translation awards and summer research grants, organizing readings and class visits, and supporting the Translation Program’s magazine, World Poetry Review.
World Poetry’s launches, readings, and Colloquy events are free and open to the public. To reduce the barriers to translated literature, the Colloquy event series is broadcast through Montez Press Radio and archived online for wider access. Colloquy events are organized thematically around topics such as “Translating the Caribbean,” “Contemporary Korean Poetry,” and “Latin American Poetry in Translation.”
World Poetry translator Megan Sungyoon talks with a Colloquy attendee while author Seo Jung Hak signs copies of “The Cheapest France in Town.” Photo courtesy of World Poetry.
Receiving a Poetry Programs, Partnerships, and Innovation grant has provided essential support for World Poetry’s publishing and public events. The funding has empowered World Poetry to increase staffing capacity by hiring a new development director and social media manager. It also made it possible to produce events, like a reading and discussion at the Poetry Project in New York City featuring award-winning Palestinian poet Ibrahim Nasrallah and his translator Huda Fakhreddine.
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