Category: Poetry Alive

Notes for Borderless Poetry Translation Project

In 2020, I led Poetry in Translation: East Meets West, a seminar series that received excellent feedback from participants and audiences. In 2021, my bilingual anthology Mirrors and Windows, featuring 59 poets translated between Chinese and English, was published by Guernica Editions and recognized by CBC as one of 45 Canadian poetry collections to watch. These projects demonstrated how poetry translation fosters meaningful cross-cultural connections.

Building on this experience, Borderless: Translating Across Divides to Foster Dialogue and Harmony brings together Chinese- and English-speaking poets, translators, and readers to explore how poetry can bridge linguistic and cultural divides. Through collaborative workshops and dialogues, participants will translate and discuss selected poems, gaining deeper insight into each other’s languages, traditions, and perspectives. The project will culminate in a bilingual anthology (digital and/or print) celebrating poetry’s power to connect communities.
The project has received financial support from previous sponsors, including D.C. Reid and Katherine L. Gordon, the League of Canadian Poets, Chen Jie (President, Triple J Tax), and Zelko Odorcic (President, Nova Marketing Group Inc.), with in-kind support from East and West Learning Connections and CPAC.

Drawing on my experience as Ontario Representative for LCP and Mississauga’s Inaugural Poet Laureate, as well as my past collaborations, I have secured participation from over 40 accomplished poets from Canada and China, including Armand Garnet Ruffo, Alice Major, Molly Peacock, Richard Greene, Micheline Maylor, Yvonne Blomer, Rayanne Haines, David Stones, Kyeren Regehr, Lorna Crozier, Kate Rogers, Bruce Hunter, Bänoo Zan, Yan Li, Yen Ai-Lin, Lo Fu, and Yang Lian. Several participating writers, including Richard Greene, Keith Garebien, Pratap Reddy, Andrea Josic, and myself, are based in Mississauga. Together, we will foster dialogue, knowledge-sharing, and collective wisdom across cultures.

An online dialogue with Richard Greene, hosted by me, supported by East and West Learning Connections, is scheduled for April 21, 2026, followed by additional online conversations and in-person workshops and readings in Mississauga.

Further updates will unfold as the project develops, in alignment with the confirmed budget and scope.  Please stay tuned.

BTW, I would also like to celebrate that our 2025 Peace and Harmony through Poetry and Music project has been selected as a MicroGrant Success. Thank you to everyone who contributed to making that project meaningful and memorable.

Anna Yin, March 18, 2026

We thank our sponsors: Nova Marketing Group, Triple J Canada, Sureway Press, CPAC, EAWLC, The League of Canadian Poets and Canadian poets Katherine L. Gordon and D.C. Reid.