Modern Poetry in Translation

Modern Poetry in Translation is a United Kingdom literary magazine and publishing project focused on bringing contemporary poetry from around the world to English-language readers. It was established in 1965 by the poet Ted Hughes and translator Daniel Weissbort, whose first issue introduced English-speaking audiences to poets who were then little known in the West. Among the writers associated with the magazine's early international outlook were Miroslav Holub, Yehuda Amichai, Ivan Lalić, Zbigniew Herbert, Czesław Miłosz, Andrei Voznesensky and Vasko Popa. The publication therefore began not simply as a periodical of translated verse, but as a vehicle for widening the perceived geography of modern poetry. The magazine's founding reflected Hughes and Weissbort's interest in translation as a creative and literary practice rather than a secondary form of publication. Its pages have combined poems with translator introductions, contextual material and editorial framing, helping readers approach work produced in different linguistic, political and cultural environments. The project has also been connected to the broader British and international poetry-translation ecosystem through Weissbort's work as an editor, translator and teacher. He later led the translation workshop programme at the University of Iowa for many years and edited major reference material on translation theory and practice. Modern Poetry in Translation was relaunched by King's College London in 1992. The college published the magazine until 2003, after which the publication continued as an independent-facing literary project. Later editorial periods gave the magazine a stronger thematic and design-led identity. Sasha Dugdale edited it from 2012 to 2017, overseeing a redesign and sixteen issues, and helped mark the fiftieth anniversary through the anthology Centres of Cataclysm, published by Bloodaxe in 2016. Clare Pollard served as editor from 2017 to 2022. Khairani Barokka edited the magazine from its third issue of 2022 until November 2023, Sarah Hesketh edited the April 2024 issue, and Janani Ambikapathy became editor from July 2024. The magazine's recent publishing programme has generally organized issues around a language, country, region, social subject or urgent global theme. Examples include focuses on Somali, Vietnamese, Maltese, Czech, Japanese, Korean, Iranian, Brazilian, Polish, Romanian, Dutch, Caribbean, Mexican and African poetry, as well as themes involving refugees, extinction, LGBTQ+ poetry, the pandemic, care, water, food, dissent and resistance. This editorial model allows the publication to present translated poetry alongside questions of history, migration, identity, war, ecology and community. The brand has also maintained a digital presence. To commemorate its fiftieth anniversary, a dedicated microsite presented the first issue in full through high-resolution scans of the original print edition. That project later developed into a broader website, modernpoetryintranslation.com, in 2018. Modern Poetry in Translation's current identity is consequently based on both the continuing print magazine and a wider cultural role: commissioning, presenting and contextualizing poetry in translation for readers, writers, translators and literary institutions internationally.

Modern Poetry in Translation began in 1965 when poet Ted Hughes and translator Daniel Weissbort created a magazine dedicated to contemporary poetry from outside the English-language mainstream. Its first issue established the publication's central method: publish poems in English translation while giving readers access to writers, translators and literary traditions that were not widely available in Britain or other English-speaking markets. The early magazine featured poets including Miroslav Holub, Yehuda Amichai, Ivan Lalić, Zbigniew Herbert, Czesław Miłosz, Andrei Voznesensky and Vasko Popa. Several of these poets later became substantially more prominent internationally, reinforcing the importance of the magazine's early editorial choices. Weissbort's role extended beyond the magazine. He worked as a translator, editor and teacher, and headed the University of Iowa translation workshop programme for decades. His editorial and scholarly work helped place literary translation within a wider discussion of craft, theory and cultural exchange. Modern Poetry in Translation likewise treated translation as a form of literary authorship and discovery, rather than merely a mechanism for reproducing texts in another language. The publication was relaunched by King's College London in 1992 and remained under the college's publishing responsibility until 2003. This period connected the magazine with an academic and institutional environment while preserving its literary purpose. In the following years, the magazine continued to develop through changing editorial leadership. Sasha Dugdale edited it from 2012 to 2017, supervising a redesign and sixteen issues. Her tenure also included preparation of Centres of Cataclysm, a fiftieth-anniversary anthology published by Bloodaxe in 2016. Clare Pollard followed as editor from 2017 to 2022. Since 2017, the magazine's issues have increasingly used thematic frameworks to organize translated poetry. These themes have ranged from national and linguistic focuses—such as Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Malta, Mexico, Hungary, Iran, Brazil, Poland and the Czech Republic—to subjects including refugees, food, bodies, extinction, the pandemic, LGBTQ+ poetry, water, care, dissent and resistance. The structure allows the magazine to combine literary discovery with social and political context without limiting itself to one national canon. Khairani Barokka edited the magazine from the third issue of 2022 until November 2023. Sarah Hesketh edited the April 2024 issue, and Janani Ambikapathy became editor in July 2024. Recent issues have included a focus on care, a Malta focus, Vietnamese poetry, water and dissent and resistance. These themes demonstrate the publication's continuing interest in linking translated poetry with contemporary questions of belonging, crisis, memory, ecology and political voice. The magazine's fiftieth anniversary also prompted an important digital preservation project. A microsite made the complete first issue available through high-resolution scans, allowing readers to encounter the publication's origins directly. The digital project later expanded into a full website in 2018. Modern Poetry in Translation therefore operates as both a periodical and a cultural archive, maintaining a long-running platform for translators and poets while documenting the changing international field of contemporary poetry.

• 2024

  Janani Ambikapathy becomes editor

  [1]Modern Poetry in Translationen.wikipedia.org

  Janani Ambikapathy assumed the editorship from July 2024.

• 2018

  Digital presence expanded

  [1]Modern Poetry in Translationen.wikipedia.org

  The anniversary microsite was expanded into a full website for the publication.

• 2016

  Fiftieth anniversary anthology

  [1]Modern Poetry in Translationen.wikipedia.org

  Bloodaxe published Centres of Cataclysm in connection with the magazine's fiftieth anniversary.

• 1992

  King's College London relaunch

  [1]Modern Poetry in Translationen.wikipedia.org

  King's College London relaunched the magazine and published it through 2003.

• 1965

  Magazine founded

  [1]Modern Poetry in Translationen.wikipedia.org

  Ted Hughes and Daniel Weissbort launched Modern Poetry in Translation as a magazine for contemporary poetry from around the world in English translation.

An internationally oriented literary publication that uses poetry translation to introduce major and emerging voices across languages, regions and cultures to English-language readers.

• Literary magazine · 1965

  Modern Poetry in Translation magazine

  The core publication is a periodically issued literary magazine presenting contemporary poetry translated into English. Issues commonly have a geographic, linguistic or thematic focus and combine poems with editorial and contextual material. The programme has covered individual countries and regions as well as subjects such as migration, war, ecology, identity, care, food, bodies, extinction and political resistance.

• Poetry anthology · 2016

  Centres of Cataclysm

  A fiftieth-anniversary anthology associated with Modern Poetry in Translation, edited during Sasha Dugdale's tenure and published by Bloodaxe in 2016. It extended the magazine's international and historical remit beyond an individual issue by gathering translated poetry connected with the publication's anniversary.

• Digital publishing · 2015

  Digital archive and website

  The magazine's digital publishing work includes a fiftieth-anniversary presentation of its first issue through high-resolution scans and a broader website expanded in 2018. This digital layer supports access to the magazine's history and provides an online home for current editorial material.

• 2016

  Fiftieth-anniversary publishing programmeOther

  Background

  The magazine marked five decades of publishing international poetry in translation.

  Action taken

  A digital presentation of the first issue and the anthology Centres of Cataclysm were developed as anniversary projects.

  Aftermath

  The projects strengthened the magazine's archival and book-publishing presence alongside its periodical work.

  Source

• 1992

  Institutional relaunch by King's College LondonStrategy

  Background

  The magazine entered a new institutional phase after its original founding period.

  Action taken

  King's College London relaunched and published Modern Poetry in Translation until 2003.

  Aftermath

  The relaunch preserved the magazine's translation-focused mission while placing its publication within a higher-education institution.

  Source

1. 1Modern Poetry in Translationen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Modern Poetry in Translation official websitemptmagazine.com