World Poetry Books

08/15/2026

In addition to sharing all of the amazing poets we've had the pleasure of publishing, we're also excited to point you to some of our friends and peers celebrating Women in Translation month!⁠
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Big shout out and thanks to The Center for the Art of Translation, Two Lines Press, and Asterism for sharing what makes special for them, and some of their favorite titles by women in translation.⁠
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There's still plenty of time this month to read something new, and we hope you're feeling moved to celebrate with us.

You can use code: WITMONTH through the end of the month for 15% off at worldpoetrybooks.com/books on any of our titles by women in translation!

Tag us if you're reading any of our books this month, and be sure to use the & hashtags

08/05/2026

Happy ! We're looking forward to sharing some of the titles we've published from women poets and translators over the years, along with lots of other books and works in translation by friends of World Poetry.

We hope you'll take the time this month to consider some new works by women in translation, and appreciate the immeasurable contributions they've made to our literary culture.

Stay tuned for more!

07/28/2026

"Tekten resists condensing the language in the original—a common strategy when translating into English—and keeps lines as complete sentences, making the pain women have harbored for millennia and the devastation wrought upon the impoverished body utterly palpable."

–Doğa Ayar

You can read Doğa Ayar's full review of EARTHLY CONDITIONS by Birhan Keskin, translated by Öykü Tekten, now at World Literature Today!

Find the full review here: https://worldliteraturetoday.org/2026/july/earthly-conditions-birhan-keskin

EARTHLY CONDITIONS is available at: worldpoetrybooks.com/books/earthly-conditions

07/22/2026

"Given ongoing current developments within Iran—where the people are in a perpetual state of peril under the brutality of the regime, thousands have been gunned down in the streets for daring to rise up and express discontent, and war with the United States continues—Shamlou’s poetry is a welcome demonstration of the vibrant cultural and imaginative resources of the Persian people and a dependable bulwark to lean against whatever the future holds." —Patrick James Dunagan

Spend some time with Patrick James Dunagan's lively and mindful review of ELEGIES OF THE EARTH by Ahmad Shamlou, translated by Niloufar Talebi.

Read the full review at Rain Taxi: https://raintaxi.com/elegies-of-the-earth/

ELEGIES OF THE EARTH is available now from World Poetry at: worldpoetrybooks.com/books/elegies-of-the-earth

07/22/2026

"How many teens can lay claim to the task of translating poems from French, Yiddish, and Romanian? Meerbaum-Eisinger could. She also experimented with an impressive variety of forms, from the traditional (quatrains, sestets, even quintets and septets, of alternating rhyme) to more amorphous and modern excursions into free verse." —Eric Bies

Check out Eric Bies review of SONG OF THE YELLOW ASTERS by Selma Meerbaum-Eisinger, translated by Carlie Hoffman, at Orange County Review of Books!

Read the full review at: https://ocreviewofbooks.org/2026/07/15/song-of-yellow-asters-selma-meerbaum-eisinger/

SONG OF THE YELLOW ASTERS is available now at: worldpoetrybooks.com/books/song-of-the-yellow-asters

07/21/2026

“Writing too many poems is a betrayal of both words and trees”
– Birhan Keskin

"The Sarah Maguire Prize For Poetry in Translation shortlist will not waste trees, words or the readers’ time. These seven vital books of translated poetry illuminate the urgent issues of our times, foregrounding voices of exile, pressing ecological concerns, and the processing of colonial violence." —The Sarah Maguire Prize

DOCUMENT SHREDDING MUSEUM by Afrizal Malna, translated by Daniel Owen and EARTHLY CONDITIONS: SELECTED POEMS by Birhan Keskin, translated by Öykü Tekten, have both been shortlisted for the Sarah Maguire Prize for Poetry in Translation!

Congratulations to all shortlisted poets and translators! The winner will be announced at an online ceremony on Sunday, 13th September.

For more details on the prize and all 7 of the shortlisted titles, see: https://www.poetrytranslation.org/sarah-maguire-prize/

07/21/2026

"Whichever Södergran you bring to the poems — the sick, poor, isolated genius or the highly educated, ambitious polyglot — the poems stand on their own. They are an achievement, not the by-product of a suffering life. A truer account of that life doesn’t explain the poems; it lets us see the writer plainly, and know that what she made was deliberate." –Ross Belot

Check out this essay on Ross Belot's experience and deepening understanding of Edith Södergran's work.

We're happy to hear World Poetry's MODERN WOMAN by Edith Södergran, translated by CD Eskilson, was a catalyst to these kinds of encounters and relationships with poets.

Read the full piece at The Transformation Review: https://www.thetransformationreview.com/essays/encountering-edith-sodergran-s-dikter-1

MODERN WOMAN is available now from World Poetry at: worldpoetrybooks.com/books/modern-woman

07/21/2026

"With the full-scale invasion, I decided it was important to start translating more Ukrainian literature." –Olena Jennings

Check out this interview by Daria Knurenko with Olena Jennings, translator of World Poetry's GIRL WITH A BULLET by Anna Malihon.

GIRL WITH A BULLET is available now from World Poetry at: worldpoetrybooks.com/books/girl-with-a-bullet

Read the full interview here at World Literature Today: https://worldliteraturetoday.org/blog/interviews/translating-anna-malihons-girl-bullet-interview-olena-jennings-daria-knurenko?fbclid=PAVERFWAS53zpwZG9mAmV4dG4DYWVtAjEwAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDzEyNDAyNDU3NDI4NzQxNAABp6aiocmok3rcWF-ZUxx-icn1pl6BlfzEGhZG6Qw9A4F-tS6m0JG_vtmKmZvc_aem_4-ymlZBdLrPv2OPp7EuVXQ

Daria Knurenko interviews Olena Jennings about her translation of Anna Malihon’s Girl with a Bullet.

07/14/2026

California Quarterly's new issue features poems from our forthcoming books of Surrealist poet Valentine Penrose (translated by Mia X. Pérez) and Brazilian legend Waly Salomão (translated by Maryam Monalisa Gharavi).

Thanks to co-editor Nicholas Skaldetvind for alerting us!

To read a full table of contents, a letter from the editors, and more details see below:

California Quarterly , Vol. 52, No. 2 (Summer 2026), Ed. Nicholas Skaldetvind and Maja Trochimczyk Cover Art: “Detail, Rancho de Taos Church...

07/12/2026

On July 16th join The New York Public Library and Limelight Poetry at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library (SNFL) for a World Poetry Salon event!

The salon will feature a reading by Cecilia Vicuña accompanied by musician Ricardo Gallo. A printout will be available for attendees to follow along with Vicuña's poetry during the reading. Following the reading, Vicuña will be interviewed by event host Patricio Ferrari.

For more event details see here: https://events.leapevents.com/event/world-poetry-salon-limelight-july16