On the night of November 3rd, I traveled downtown near Battery Park and the World Trade Center as I made myself down to the Poet’s House. At this particular reading, there were six successful poets from diverse backgrounds and primary languages. Although the reading was held at the Poet’s House, this reading was hosted by the Iowa International Writing Program.

Tehila Hakimi reading her work

The first poet, Tehila Hakimi, hails from Israel. Because her primary language is Hebrew, she first read her poems in her native tongue then she passed the microphone to her trusted translator. The first two poems were published in her poetry volume, We’ll Work Tomorrow, and the last poem was an exclusive reading of an unpublished poem. All three poems were about the vastness of life, freedom and her people. She emphasized how hardworking the Jewish people are as she  made a point of their freedom from slavery and the massive success many Jewish people have experienced today, all while emphasizing the hope for a better future for all people. I also noticed how she read from right to left, something I only realized is how Hebrew is read. Her participation was made possible by the United States-Israel Educational Foundation.

The second poet, Chandramohan Sathyananthan, hails from India. He is the only poet who wrote and read his poems in English, as he fluent in English. He organizes English-language poetry readings in Kerala, a southwestern state of India, where he also coordinates a subaltern cultural collective. His participation was made possible by the Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State.

The third reader, Ausra Kaziliunaite, hails from Lithuania. She read her poems in her native lithuanian. The common theme of her poems were also about her people but also had to do with the metaphor of birds as she compared their ability to fly to the freedom of many different enslaved peoples. She is the author of four volumes of poetry; the poems she read were from The Moon is a Pill, one of her volumes that recently appeared in English. Like the other non-native English speakers, she had two translators read her poems in English. What striked me the most about this author was that she sported a bright pink hair, something I thought was uncommon for successful poets just because it is out of the ordinary. She is a recipient of many national awards, such as the Young Artists Prize from Lithuania’s Ministry of Culture. Her participation was made possible by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.

The fourth reader, Umar Timol, hails from Mauritius. Before reading his work, he explained where Mauritius is, as many in the audience did not know. He explained Mauritius as a small island off the coast of India and said that this would be a perfect honeymoon spot! He is the author of four poetry volumes, two novels and two comic books. His poetry collection 52 Fragments pour l’aimee [52 Fragments for the Beloved] (2016) received the Poetry Prize at the Moldova Poetry Festival. He did not use a translator but rather read the translations himself. He read his poems in the language they were written in–French–then he read them in English. His participation was made possible by the Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State.

The fifth and final reader, Bejan Matur, hails from Turkey. She is the author of nine poetry collections and has worked with many NGOs on conflict resolution. Two of her poems she read in her native Turkish but her last poem she read in Kurdish, which she explained she is also fluent in because of the fact that her mother is Kurdish. Herpresentation was rather powerful as she took the microphone of the stand and began to walk around the stage and made hand motions to emphasize certain words as she spoke. She was the only author to do so. She also read the English translations herself, noting that she isn’t very fluent in English as she apologized to the audience beforehand. Her participation was made possible by an anonymous gift to IWP (Iowa International Writing Program).

Q&A Session with the Authors

After all the poets finished reading their work, the authors took questions from the audience. One of the most intriguing questions was how the authors worked to translate their work. Most of the authors noted that it was difficult to effectively translate their work without losing the essential meaning, so they had to relate their experiences to translators in order to maintain the meaning of their work.

Nightime views outside of the Poet’s House

After attending a poetry reading like this, that featured such a diverse pool of authors with a common theme of a positive outlook on life, I feel like I might find myself at other poetry or even novel readings in the future. It is very interesting seeing how authors showcase their work in the way that they read, because it leaves clarity in the audience as we can see their work for how it is intended to be seen.