Gratitude

I began my journey at Poetry by discussing my lifelong pursuit of learning on the Editor’s Blog. I return to that discussion in gratitude. Editing has always been as much a creative and educational pursuit for me as writing has been, maybe more so. The conversations I have with other editors and arts organizers inspire me, and every writer in this issue inspires me.

Throughout this process, I have been moving towards that learning. And in this issue, when I decided to put together a folio for translation, it was with the understanding that I want to know more about translation. When we teach, we often teach aspirationally—we want to learn as we teach.

I approach editing in much the same way. My understanding of translation was so much more conservative two years ago than it is now. Truly, it was Anthony Cody’s visual translations of Juan Felipe Herrera’s Akrilica that showed me that translation is leaps and bounds away from an obsession with a very narrow idea of “accuracy”; instead, there are conversations about emotional accuracy, about experiential accuracy.

The translators in this issue are reflecting the changing conversations about translation by showcasing their own voices and interests. When Quyên Nguyễn-Hoàng recontextualizes Hàn Mặc Tử’s work, we see writing and translation as living documents. Or when Abby Ryder-Huth uses space to reconnect moments or creates echo through typography, we are learning about her experience of the poem too.

The overwhelming amount of amazing Spanish translations that came in was unexpected and exciting for me. There’s another layer here too: just as not all poems that are published in English begin in English, not all poems published in Spanish start in Spanish. In the United States, many marginalized people may use Spanish as a cultural commonality, but we cannot ignore that this is not the case in many Latin American countries. Instead, poets writing in Indigenous languages often must publish in Spanish, and I’m excited to feature some such poems in Spanish, English, and Indigenous languages in this folio.

I learned from the writers throughout my editorship, but I also learned from my colleagues. In this case, every member of the reader team has brought new poems and poets to my attention. And every member of the editorial team has encouraged me to dream as big as I can and pushed those dreams even further (there is a cootie catcher poem in here—how cool is that???).

I am leaving Poetry inspired and excited, but this is not the end of my education. If anything, this time has shown me how much more I have to learn, and I am eternally grateful for each person who has opened new paths for me.

As a poet and editor, I extend my gratitude for this time: to every writer who submitted, to every editor, reader, and staff member at Poetry Foundation who taught me. To the guest editors who came before, Su and Ashley, I walk in your steps to honor the beauty y’all have created. To my partner, who is always my first reader. To Chicu and Esther, who are planning projects that are intriguing and exciting.

And to every reader: thank you for simply being in community with me. It is your faith and support that have pushed me throughout this monumental task, and for that, I must say, one final time: gracias y abrazos.