Periscope

Periscope is a new imprint from A Midsummer Night’s Press, devoted to poetry in translation into English by women writers. “This name reflects how, just as a periscope lets us see around corners, translation allows us to see between languages,” explains publisher Lawrence Schimel, “even if there is not always a straight line of sight, as if often the case when translating poetry, where the translator must often recreate a metaphor or meaning in the target language.”

Periscope focuses on women poets who have published at least two books in their own languages but have not yet had a translation into English.

According to the Translation Database compiled by translation publisher Open Letter Books, during the two years before this imprint launched, only around 26% of the translations published in the US were by women authors. (And needless to say, poetry represents only 15-17% of translated titles in this same two-year period.)

A Midsummer Night’s Press hopes to help redress this imbalance and bring the excellent work by women poets around the globe to a wider readership.