Education
Poetry Inside Out
Translation Builds Literacy and Connects Cultures
Poetry Inside Out is a collaborative, cross-cultural language arts curriculum designed for grades 3–12 that celebrates classroom diversity, builds literacy skills, improves critical thinking, and unlocks creativity by teaching students to translate poetry from around the world. The curriculum is also adaptable for post–secondary education settings. Through this work, students see themselves, their classmates, and language itself in entirely new ways.
Why Translation? Why Poetry?
Translation Builds Close Reading Skills
Translation is the closest form of reading, and poetry is the most precise and expressive use of language. Students translate masterworks by world-renowned poets—from Matsuo Bashō in Japanese to Anna Akhmatova in Russian to Aimé Césaire in French to David Huerta in Spanish. Because there is no single “correct” rendering of a poem, students must defend their language choices, which requires deep immersion into the literary work and the specific tone and meaning of their word choices. Through this process, students become familiar with the building blocks of language and the full range of expression available to them as readers, writers, speakers, thinkers, and world citizens.
Bridging Cultures through Language
As the United States’ population becomes more diverse, teaching materials must reflect and honor that diversity. In San Francisco, where the Center for the Art of Translation is based, more than 112 languages are spoken, and at least a quarter of students speak English as a second language. Across the Bay in Oakland, almost half of students speak a language other than English at home. Poetry Inside Out embraces, and relies upon, the cultural and linguistic diversity found in today’s classrooms, schools, and communities. The program empowers students by drawing on the cultural and linguistic experiences they bring with them every day.
Building Skills through Collaboration
Working in small groups, students translate poetry phrase by phrase, share and revise their work, and present their final translations to the class. This collaborative process develops close reading, precise writing, attentive listening, evidence-based argumentation, and creative problem-solving. By translating poems together, students build an appreciation for one another’s skills and backgrounds—and their translations reveal meaningful responses to language, society, and personal experiences.
Students Develop
- A deeper understanding of how language works
- Appreciation for world literature and diverse cultures
- Confidence in their own linguistic and cultural knowledge
- Critical thinking, collaboration, and communication skills
- Recognition that they can accomplish something meaningful and challenging
Getting Started
You don’t need to be a translator or a poet, nor do you need to possess mastery of another language to participate in Poetry Inside Out. Here are a few ways to engage with Poetry Inside Out:
Read Our Program Guide and Try a Lesson
Want to learn more? Check out our Program Guide(opens in a new tab). You can also experience Poetry Inside Out firsthand with our i(opens in a new tab)ntroduction lesson(opens in a new tab) on Bashō’s haikus (translated from the Japanese) that breaks down the materials into a four-day lesson plan. Try it now.
Attend a Workshop
Join a workshop hosted by the Center for the Art of Translation or one of our program partners to learn program fundamentals and gain access to comprehensive curriculum materials including:
- The Poetry Inside Out Teacher’s Guide
- A Teacher’s Toolbox with 75+ Poem Pages featuring poems by writers such as Anna Akhmatova (Russian), Matsuo Bashō (Japanese), Aimé Césaire (French), David Huerta (Spanish), an anonymous Angel Island poet (Chinese), and Wisława Szymborska (Polish), among many others
- Monthly newsletter that includes updates and news from Poetry Inside Out
Apply for a PIO Teaching Fellowship
Apply for our two-year fellowship program supporting U.S.-based educators (grades 3–12) in expanding their practice through poetry translation and inquiry-based learning. Learn more and apply.
Want to Learn More?
Check out our Program Guide(opens in a new tab) and contact Poetry Inside Out education director, Mark Hauber(opens in a new tab), about bringing Poetry Inside Out to your school.
Previous Workshop Attendee or Fellow?
Login via the My Account link here and in the header menu to access the poem pages and educator resources. Those will appear under the Education header dropdown menu once you’ve logged in. Email education director, Mark Hauber(opens in a new tab), if you have any issues or questions.
Our Team
- Mark Hauber, Poetry Inside Out, Program Director, M.Ed., Boston College (staff)
- Todd Elkin, BFA, San Francisco Art Institute, M.Ed, Harvard Graduate School of Education. CLAD certified, Visual Artist, Educator, Writer (consultant)
- Arzu Mistry, Artist, Educator, and Researcher (consultant)
- Dr. Jie Park, BA and MA, Stanford University, Ph.D, University of Pennsylvania, Associate Professor of Education, Clark University (consultant)
Program Partners
The Center for the Art of Translation is dedicated to creating a community of Poetry Inside Out practitioners. This work would not be possible without the contributions of teachers, administrators, and other representatives from the Oakland Unified School District; San Francisco Unified School District; Bay Area Writing Project in collaboration with the University of California, Berkeley School of Education; Clark University and Worcester Public Schools (Worcester, MA); St. Louis Poetry Center (St. Louis, MO); and the Philadelphia Writing Project in collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education.