Poetry Inside Out Teaching Fellow Spotlight: Caroline Woods-Mejía
Caroline Woods-Mejía, a 2025–27 Poetry Inside Out fellow and educator at Piedmont Middle School in California, shares her unique story with CAT’s educational program. Her journey began at age seven, writing and translating poetry through the Poetry Inside Out program as a young student. Many years later, as an educator taking part in our teaching fellowship program, Woods-Mejía discusses her students’ growth and the ways the Poetry Inside Out curriculum continues to influence her perspective on translation.
CAT: What drew you to the Poetry Inside Out Teaching Fellowship program?
Caroline Woods-Mejía: I began writing and translating poetry when I was seven years old through Poetry Inside Out. These early experiences were formative. Over the years, my commitment to literature deepened as I studied the craft of poetry and literary translation, eventually graduating college with a concentration in creative writing. Now, as an educator, I continue to bring poetry into the classroom, and when I found out that I could bring Poetry Inside Out specifically to my classroom I jumped at the opportunity. I wanted my students to experience the same kind of joy I felt when I first started this work.
CAT: What are some of the skills students have developed in your class as they learn more about poetry in translation?
Caroline Woods-Mejía: My students are expanding their literacy skills and critical thinking by participating in poetry translation. They are able to deepen their classroom discussions about meaning and themes of literary works and have a better understanding of how word choice can add significance to a piece of writing. Not only that, but their social skills have improved as well! Working in groups and sharing their ideas and reading a language they don’t know has provided my students with more opportunities to be vulnerable with one another and to feel confident sharing their ideas and their work.
I believe translation is a way to share our stories with one another and find all the little ways we’re all connected.
CAT: How has your experience with this project shaped or expanded your understanding of translation?
Caroline Woods-Mejía: I’ve loved hearing my students reflecting on the importance of reading translated work. They’ve specifically highlighted how translating provides them with opportunities to learn more about the world, other cultures, and people. I believe translation is a way to share our stories with one another and find all the little ways we’re all connected.
CAT: What are the poems you were excited to work with in your classroom?
Caroline Woods-Mejía: I loved working with Wisława Szymborska’s poem “Trzy słowa najdziwniejsze”—it was so fun to see my students grapple with translating a shorter poem that was packed with meaning. A lot of my students ended up writing multiple translations because they were so engrossed in the translation process.
[Photo credit: Tommy Lau]
Poetry Inside Out is a collaborative, cross-cultural language arts curriculum designed for grades 3–12 that celebrates classroom diversity, builds literacy skills, improves critical thinking, and unlocks creativity by teaching students to translate poetry from around the world. The curriculum is also adaptable for post–secondary education settings. Through this work, students see themselves, their classmates, and language itself in entirely new ways. To learn more about this program and how to bring it into your classrooms or other educational spaces, visit our Education page.
Caroline Woods-Mejía is a Bay Area native, Berkeley born and raised. She is a graduate of UC Santa Cruz and UC Berkeley, with a bachelor’s degree in literature and a master’s degree in education. When she’s not teaching or engrossed in reading and writing, you can find her at the beach or on a hiking trail with her dog Garbanzo Bean; attending concerts around the Bay; and eating tacos at Berkeley’s best dive bar or baking some sweet treats in the kitchen.
