Today I imagine the words of countless
Languages to be suddenly fetterless --
After long incarceration
In the fortress of grammar, suddenly up in rebellion
–from "On My Birthday" by Rabindranath Tagore
April is poetry month at 1book140, The Atlantic's Twitter book club, as well as National Poetry Month across the United States. This month's selection is The ecco Anthology of International Poetry, a remarkable volume by Ilya Kaminsky and Susan Harris, featuring translations of 20th century poets from around the world.
"Opening the window to the world is, in part, the job of a translator," writes Kaminsky in a conversation published by Poetry Magazine. The ecco Anthology opens with a poem by the Nobel Prize winning Bengali poet, educationalist, and political thinker Rabindranath Tagore. It closes with "the earth does not get fat," a song from the Ngoni people of east-central Africa. This month, let's each try to open a window a day.
It's easy and fun to join our Twitter book club. Find a copy of The ecco Anthology of International Poetry. Follow us at@1book140 and follow the hashtag #1book140 for general chatter. For this month's conversation:
- Post to #1world140 to share the poems you're reading, favorite lines, and links to further information from the anthology
- Post to #1poem140 to share links to other poems you love that aren't in the ecco anthology. Our last article offers places to find poetry online.