Poetry Inside Out taking flight in Philadelphia

CAT’s educational program Poetry Inside Out has mentored individual teachers across the U.S. as they introduce multilingual literature into their classrooms. For over ten years, hundreds of teachers have offered students access to an engaging cross-cultural literary arts program that values cultural and language diversity. Every teacher who goes through a workshop has access to a multilingual library of poems that include English-language glossaries to accompany the original text.

As our program has grown, so has our community. We have teachers from around the country who say hi to us at the annual AWP conference or send requests for poems in specific languages. And as we expand, we want to continue to strengthen the values that connect us to literature in the first place—understanding and empathy. Our goal is to make students excited about global literature by introducing them cultures and languages from around the world. By offering teachers an array of different languages, topics, and revolutionary ideals, each teacher is empowered to engage the next generation of global citizens with an individualized educational approach.

Over the past two years Poetry Inside Out has offered a year-long Teaching Fellowship that allows a small group of teachers from around the country an opportunity to support each other and create classroom projects or research that explore the importance of multicultural learning. Together, our Fellows have created new ideas for workshops, and our community has helped each other problem solve situations that arise in classrooms all over the country. They continue to support each other in making equitable classrooms that center the student experience, acknowledging the holistic nature of a multicultural curriculum.

As we worked with our Teaching Fellows, we realized that school district support and involvement is critical for teacher participation and student success, and offers teachers real-life solutions to real-life problems. This past April, during National Poetry Month, Poetry Inside Out was invited to partner with the School District of Philadelphia(opens in a new tab) and the Philadelphia Writing Project(opens in a new tab) to lead a district-wide professional development day.

On Saturday, April 14, 60 Philadelphia elementary, middle, and high school teachers participated in a Poetry Inside Out teacher workshop which introduced them to the curriculum, prepared them to bring world poetry and translation into their classrooms, and provided them with tools and techniques to support collaborative classroom dialogue.

These teachers have the chance to attend two follow-up workshops: one in August as part of the Philadelphia Writing Project Summer Institute(opens in a new tab) and one in October as a part of the Celebration of Writing and Literary Conference at the University of Pennsylvania(opens in a new tab). They’ll be integrating poem pages into their instruction this spring, collecting student work, and tracking the impact on students. During the follow-up workshops they’ll have the chance to reconnect with their fellow teachers, learn from each others’ experiences, and interact as a community committed to teaching their students the values of translation: collaboration, empathy, and belonging.

One veteran teacher said, “In 30 years of Professional Development, this is in my top three ever. The work is fascinating, and I am so looking forward to diving into it next school year with my ESL students.”

Another teacher added, “This program offers students of all skill levels meaningful entry points to participate in poetry translation and interpretation.”

We look forward to continuing this important work with our teacher partners in Philadelphia and will be sure to share updates from the hundreds of students who now have access to world poetry and translation lessons. Our community is vast, and we can’t wait to see how it continues to grow!

Poetry Inside Out is a cross-cultural literary arts program centered on the collaborative translation of poetry that combines academic skill-building and social and emotional development. To learn more, please contact Program Director Mark Hauber at mark@catranslation.org.