Edited by U.S. Poet Laureate Arthur Sze, this is the first anthology of poetry translation published in association with the Library of Congress during a laureate’s appointment, part of Sze’s signature project “Words Bridging Worlds.” Covering nearly two millennia of poetry and featuring twenty-three poems drawn from thirteen languages, Sze guides readers through key works showcasing multiple translations of the same source poems and original poems written by translators in order to display the creative art and depth of translation. The collection is organized into zones that interconnect and highlight works of Surrealism, classical Greek poetry, visual poetry, and Asian poetry. “A good translation appeals to our ears, eyes, and heart; it is a singular endeavor and a humanizing act that makes the ancient contemporary, the foreign accessible and the emotional, intellectual, and spiritual music of the human interior universal,” writes Sze in the introduction. Transient Worlds is an invitation to “revel in the power of words” and to craft your own translations and poems inspired by the act of translation.
