Giovanni Bellini, Pietà (1505), oil on wood, 65 x 90 cm, Gallerie dell’Accademia, Venice For more on the poetry of Pollakówna, read “A Terrible Ecstasy,” a companion essay by Alice-Cathe…

Seb, “Gilded/Glider,” Amsterdam, October 8, 2008 from Zodiac  Early in the morning he wanders through the city.The silence is unnerving, and quickly the streetraises empty eyes to t…

Antti T. Nissinen, “Untitled” (spirit level), May 25, 2011 Homesickness  A house is something that stands up to a slopeby what it confronts on every side.But take note: say house in this cou…

Isis Olivier, La grive II (The thrush II), 2015. All illustrations courtesy of the artist. A Note on the Illustrations  Diti Ronen: “I suddenly have this unexplained urge t…

The translation of The Diamond Sutra by Kumārajīva of the Yao Ch’in dynasty, in a handwritten version by Zhang Jizhi of the Southern Song Dynasty in 1253. Kumārajīva had established…

A refugee’s shoes are worn, wet, and muddy after a long journey. These shoes are owned by Ali, a Yazidi refugee who traveled from Iraq to Preševo, Serbia, to avoid persecution (photo by Meab…

Tony Webster, Dakota Access Pipeline protest at the Sacred Stone Camp near Cannon Ball, North Dakota, August 25, 2016 This poem addresses the demonstrations against the Dakota Access Pip…

Quinn Dombrowski, “Velvet Flower,” 2008 For more, read “The Renaissance of Zofia Romanowicz,” an essay by Alice-Catherine Carls.  The Circle Lion fangs, bear claws,…

Mohammadali F., “Daffodils,” Tehran, 2009 Translator’s note: Regarded as one of the leaders of the movement of “New Poetry” in Iran, Nader Naderpour (1929–2000) composed many poems…

Esther Schwarz, “Lush (66/365),” 2009. For more of Schwarz’s photos, visit Inside My Shell.   Tangerinas de Natal «Será que eles ainda fazem?» Édomingopara segunda. Resolvesa teu f…

Aaron Brown, “Brickyard,” Ati, Chad, March 2007 Author’s note: I recently returned to Chad after a five-year absence and found the nation of my youth to be both the same and yet rem…

Christopher, Tania, and Isabelle Luna, “Mountains and Rain” (the hills of Fuzhou), September 2009   The Hills Overlooking Fuzhou Looking north you see them,roads like ragged scars on hard lean ribs:t…

Translator’s note: Considered Morocco’s greatest living poet, Abdellatif Laâbi wrote this poem in 1975, roughly three years into his decade-long prison sentence, one of many thousan…

Jack Homme, “Goddess of Democracy 1989,” 2009 About Freedom Finishing the booze in the dead of night Then smashing the glass This is not freedom Opening the window Jumping out, but forgetting whi…

Alex Ringer, “Thistle-Garden (Cynara syriaca f. alba),” Jezreel Valley, Israel Introductory note by translator Rachel Tzvia Back Tuvia Ruebner was born in Slovak…

Guillermo Arreola, Ni tú escaparás (2005), mixed media on canvas, 90 x 80cm. Courtesy of the artist. Durability of Materials                                  L’Art est l…

史国瑞 (Shi Guorui), “Shanghai,” 15–16 October 2004, unique camera obscura, gelatin silver print,129 x 440 cm. By permission of the photographer. In this YouTube video, he discusses the genesis…

Idea Vilariño in Paris, ca. 1954 | Photo by Michel Sima, from Idea: la vida escrita, by Ana Inés Larre Borges (2007) | Source: elmalpensante.com Translator’s note: Idea Vil…

Dissipating Cloudcover Stormbreak                         distances unseen                          from the storehouse  lap of rain                          on the shingles  sky                      …

April is National Poetry Month, and WLT will be celebrating. The Academy of American Poets began the month-long event in 1996. The Academy’s website suggests several ways to participate, rang…