Poets around the world have always translated other poets, often without even knowing the source language. Given the poor contacts between Swiss poets from different language areas, and noting that mental barriers may be more granitic than physical ones, Babel conceived the project titled Poethreesome in 2016.

Each year, three Swiss poets meet at the Swiss Institute in Rome and translate each other’s work during a two-week residency. If they do not know the source language, they rely on interlinear versions or a common lingua franca. In any case, the translator and the translated always share a language, that of poetry. Poetic language knows no barriers, not even linguistic ones, that cannot be overcome. Both for writers and for readers. Translation between writers from different linguistic areas thus offers a model of mediation for approaching other people’s cultures and ways of being.

The results of this work are presented at national and international literary events and finally published here in Specimen. The Babel Review of Translations. The poets of Poethreesome 2024 are Daniele Bernardi, Arthur Billerey and Simone Lappert. Poethreesome is a project initiated and curated by “Babel. Festival di letteratura e traduzione”.