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Poems by Mesándel Virtusio Arguelles, translated by Kristine Ong Muslim

Kristine Ong Muslim and Mesándel Virtusio Arguelles

two-thirty / credit: em

Reptile He had been visited by countless frogs and snakes were nesting in his room. Although he was always trapped between trepidation and awe, he relished each encounter as … [Read more...]

Mouthful of Birds by Samanta Schweblin, translated by Megan McDowell, reviewed by Bethany Darby

Bethany Darby

Review of Mouthful of Birds by Samanta Schweblin, translated by Megan McDowell

Mouthful of Birds by Samanta Schweblin, translated by Megan McDowell / Riverhead Books / 2019 / 978-0399184628 / 240 pages “In the flat darkness of the countryside. There is only disappointment, … [Read more...]

Three poems by Georges Rose, translated by Bryan F. Flavin

Brian F. Flavin and Georges Rose

banks september / credit: em

Mer cousue ligne de fer nappe ornée d’oiseaux ciels crevés de soies où s’affalent des lumières imprévisibles par endroit le revêtement de chair avec ses maisons plus lourdes brassards … [Read more...]

Imagine Touching Words: A New Lispector for Readers of English, reviewed by Pınar Türer

Pınar Türer

The Besieged City by Clarice Lispector, translated by Jonny Lorenz (New Directions)

The Besieged City by Clarice Lispector. Trans. by Johnny Lorenz & Ed. by Benjamin MoserNew Directions / Penguin Random House / 2019 Lucrécia Neves “mulls over her inability to reason"; when we … [Read more...]

A Jewish Refugee in New York by Kadya Molodovsky, trans. Anita Norich, reviewed by Jessica Kirzane

Jessica Kirzane

Book review: A Jewish Refugee in New York by Kadya Molodovsky, trans. Anita Norich

A Jewish Refugee in New York by Kadya Molodovsky. Translated by Anita Norich / Indiana University Press / 978-0253040763 / 2019 / 172 pages. In some ways, the narrator of Kadya Molodovsky’s A … [Read more...]

Four poems translated from the Sanskrit by Brishti Guha

Brishti Guha

scudder pond, december / d.enck

Translator's note:These poems from the Sanskrit “Gathasaptashati” are attributed to King Hala, a first-century AD ruler of the Satavahana dynasty in ancient South India. Hala’s version was in Prakrit, … [Read more...]

Paper-Thin Skin by Aigerim Tazhi, translated by J. Kates, reviewed by Eric Nguyen

Eric Nguyen

Aigerim Tazhi Paper-Thin Skin translated by J. Kates

Paper-Thin Skin by Aigerim Tazhi, translated from Russian by J. Kates / Zephyr Press / 978-1-938890901 / 2019 Aigerim Tazhi is a difficult poet to pin down. For one, she writes in Russian in … [Read more...]

Poems by Iranian poet Bijan Najdi, translated by Parisa Saranj

Bijan Najdi and Parisa Saranj

in the fragrance garden / credit: d.enck

I have chosen the poetry of Bijan Najdi’s for its heartbroken yet hopeful and tender view of the world. Najdi’s poems provide a window into concerns of modern Persian poetry and Iranian society. I … [Read more...]

An excerpt from Rachmil Bryks’ memoir, The Fugitives, translated from the Yiddish by Yermiyahu Ahron Taub

Rachmil Bryks and Yermiyahu Ahron Taub

An excerpt from Rachmil Bryks' memoir, The Fugitives translated from Yiddish by Yermiyahu Ahron Taub

Translated from the Yiddish by Yermiyahu Ahron Taub. Published with the permission of the author’s daughter, Bella Bryks-Klein Translator’s Note: “This is How It All Began” and “Fugitives” are the … [Read more...]

not written words by Xi Xi, translated from Chinese by Jennifer Feeley, reviewed by Sherrel McLafferty

Sherrel McLafferty

not written words by Xi Xi, translated by Jennifer Feeley

not written words by Xi Xi, translated from Chinese by Jennifer Feeley / Zephyr Press / 978-1938890123 / 2016 Xi Xi’s not written words is a youthful collection of poems that remind readers that … [Read more...]

Six poems by Háel Lopez, translated by Ariel Francisco

Ariel Francisco and Háel Lopez

Complete Turn Your heart fell into a glass of beer I watched it drown while tracing the rim with my finger. The pieces fall on terrible rhymes of an endless poem but you don’t get up, don’t … [Read more...]

Günter Grass: three translations and response poems by Allie Marini

Allie Marini

gunter grass translated by allie marini

These poems are dedicated to the memory of Dr. Glenn R. Cuomo, Professor of German Studies 1992-2017, New College of Florida, with whom the translator first began work on this project in 1997. Fishily … [Read more...]

5 poems by Miss Poetrix, translated from the Italian by Alessandra Bava

Alessandra Bava and Miss Poetrix

plumearth #3 / credit: de

Translator's note: Miss Poetrix (pen name for Gaia Casanova) is a poet and performer from Rome, Italy. Her work is reminiscent of Italian poets such as Patrizia Valduga and American poets such as Anne … [Read more...]

Three poems by Edgar Rincón Luna, translated by Toshiya Kamei

Edgar Rincón Luna and Toshiya Kamei

september 80 / image: d.enck

Farewell to the Beach Why does this shadow that's no longer us hurt so much? why does that ash getting losing among stones make us cry? The heart of the world spills and caresses nobody's … [Read more...]

Six poems by Zheng Xiaoqiong/郑小琼, translated from Chinese by Zhou Xiaojing

Zhou Xiaojing and Zheng Xiaoqiong

Semiahmoo window (detail) / photo by Denise Enck

周阳春 / Zhou Yangchun In the world of her dreams     she stands at the ferry without boats     or before she can finish the exam time is … [Read more...]

The Task of Translation in tasks by Víctor Rodríguez Núñez and Katherine M. Hedeen: A review essay by Olivia Lott

Olivia Lott

Tasks by Víctor Rodríguez Núñez, translated by Katherine M. Hedeen

tasks by Víctor Rodríguez Núñez. Translated by Katherine M. Hedeen / co•im•press / 978-0988819962 / paperback / 131 pages / 2016 Reading tasks begins at its edges: a seven-part … [Read more...]

Translating the Counterculture: The Reception of the Beats in Turkey by Erik Mortenson, reviewed by Marc Olmsted

Marc Olmsted

Translating the Counterculture: The Reception of the Beats in Turkey by Erik Mortenson

TRANSLATING THE COUNTERCULTURE The Reception of the Beats in Turkey by Erik Mortenson / Southern Illinois University Press / 978-0809336548 / 2018 The premise is a fascinating one. Erik Mortenson … [Read more...]

Juan Arabia: 5 poems translated by Katherine M. Hedeen

Katherine M. Hedeen and Juan Arabia

Juan Arabia (Buenos Aires, 1983) is a poet, translator, literary critic, and publisher. The poems included here belong to his collection Nature’s Dislodging [Desalojo de la naturaleza] (2017). Un … [Read more...]

Poems by Lucía Estrada, translated by Olivia Lott

Olivia Lott and Lucía Estrada

Farandole by Julie Sargent

The poems here come from Las Hijas del Espino [Daughters of the Hawthorn], winner of the 2006 Medellín Poetry Prize. Estrada’s poetic subject travels across centuries to highlight in each poem an … [Read more...]

Ian Haight in conversation with Dennis Maloney: writer, translator, editor of White Pine Press

Ian Haight and Dennis Maloney

Ian Haight in conversation with Dennis Maloney, writer, translator and publsher of White Pine Press.

Dennis Maloney is an award-winning poet, translator, and founding editor of White Pine Press. His works of translation include The Poet and the Sea: Poems of Juan Ramon Jimenez, The House in the Sand … [Read more...]

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Empty Mirror

Established in 2000 and edited by Denise Enck, Empty Mirror is an online literary magazine that publishes new work each Friday.

Each week EM features several poems each by one or two poets; reviews; critical essays; visual art; and personal essays.

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  • On Waiting
  • Seeing Las Meninas in Madrid, 1994
  • Visual poems from 23 Bodhisattvas by Chris Stephenson
  • Historical Punctum: Reading Natasha Trethewey’s Bellocq’s Ophelia and Native Guard Through the Lens of Roland Barthes’s Camera Lucida
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