The innovative in-school writing program for children, Poetry Inside Out (PIO), developed by San Francisco’s Center for the Art of Translation, is the first creative writing program for kids in which translation plays an essential part. Sixth-grader and Poetry Inside Out student Maggie Gallagher won the 2008 Grand Prize (grades 4-6) in the prestigious national River of Words contest for environmental poetry and art. Her poem, “To Speak with the Dead” was selected by former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Haas. She accepted her award in May at the Library of Congress.
The Berkeley, CA-based River of Words contest attracts more than 10,000 entrants nationally and internationally. The program also awards young artists; winners, chosen by children’s book illustrator and writer Thatcher Hurd, can be viewed at an online gallery .
River of Words: Young Poets and Artists on the Nature of Things, edited by Pamela Michael (founder of River of Words) with an introduction by Robert Haas, was published in 2008 by Milkweed Editions; it features winning poetry and art from the contest over the years.
The Center for the Art of Translation also sponsors the Literary Translation Project, which helps “to preserve and promote the cultural heritage of diverse communities by bringing world literature—both contemporary and classic—to new audiences.” Two Lines is their annual anthology of new English translations of poetry and fiction from more than 50 languages and countries. Their World Library project, begun in 2007, produces an annual anthology focusing on one region, language or tradition.
Three other Poetry Inside Out students were finalists this year in the River of Words contest. PaperTigers celebrates these two wonderful San Francisco Bay Area organizations for their inspired work with children and their support of multicultural writing for all ages.