U.S. Poet Laureate Arthur Sze Launches 'Words Bridging Worlds' National Tour


Arthur Sze’s signature project as the nation’s 25th Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry launches this week with a national tour encouraging Americans to engage with poetry written in foreign languages.

Words Bridging Worlds invites anyone who has been curious about poetry from international cultures to become poetry translators. Graduate students from New York City’s Queens College MFA program in creative writing and literary translation will partner with Sze during poetry translation workshops, and Sze will also hold a public reading and conversation about his signature project in each of the four cities on his tour.

“We live in a challenging world that is increasingly interconnected,” Sze said. “Poetry is for everyone, and it bridges our differences by showing us that our experiences of what it is to be human reach across languages, cultures and time. Now, more than ever, we need to recognize how poetry deepens our attention and understanding, and how it helps us connect. ‘Words Bridging Worlds’ exemplifies democracy in action, where people of all ages and all walks of life can come together through the living art of poetry.”

During his first term, Sze assembled a collection of 22 poems from 13 languages titled Transient Worlds: On Translating Poetry. The book, which provides a personal guide to poetry translation, was published in April by Copper Canyon Press in association with the Library of Congress.

Each tour stop features two events, a public reading and conversation and a poetry translation workshop, both free and open to the public. Sze will travel to:

• September 18-19: Honolulu, Hawai’i - a public event September 18 at the Mission Memorial Auditorium hosted by The Merwin Conservancy and the Honolulu Mayor’s Office of Culture and the Arts, and a workshop September 19 hosted by the Hawai’i Center for the Book
• November 7, Minneapolis, Minnesota - a public event and workshop at the Twin Cities Book Festival with the Minnesota Center for the Book
• February 9-10, 2027: Boise, Idaho - a public event and workshop with The Cabin and the Idaho Center for the Book
• April 9-10, 2027: San Antonio, Texas - a public event and workshop with the San Antonio Book Festival and the Texas Center for the Book

Sze will return to the Library of Congress on April 29, 2027, to conclude his tour and to end his tenure as the 25th U.S. Poet Laureate.