What’s in progress at the International Poetry Library
Last updated: September 14, 2026
The fun part of publically sharing what I am building is seeing how others interact with it. It now holds more than 1,700 books and anthologies across 93 languages, along with paths through countries, translators, presses, publications, and awards. This page is a short record of what I am working on next, what still needs fixing, and where help is useful.
Some shelves now have dozens of books; others have only one or two. I am keeping those thinner pages public because they show where the English-language record I can reach is sparse, and where the next additions may matter most. The counts are useful for browsing, but they are not a ranking of countries, languages, or traditions.
| 1,700+ books and anthologies | 93 languages | 93 Reading Routes drafted | Dec 2025 project started |
International Poetry Library roadmap
| Work | Status | Next step |
| Additional Books | Next up | Look through the catalogue for presses that are thin and fill them out via requested databases or web scraping. |
| Reading Routes | Being published | Publishing routes through the end of the year. |
| Country and language pages | Ongoing Revision | Expand thin or generic pages, starting with shelves that hold only one or two books. |
| Translator and author metadata | Ongoing | Merge duplicate names, restore accents and middle names, and correct translation credits. |
International Poetry Library Reading Routes
Reading Routes are the clearest next step for the library. Each one gathers roughly five to fifteen books around a country, language, translator, form, theme, or recurring image. They are meant to give a reader somewhere to begin and a way to keep moving through the collection.
Some routes will be broad and some will be narrow. I want them to feel like one reader passing along what opened a door, with room for the route to change when a better book or connection appears. All 93 are drafted. I am now checking links, book records, and repeated titles before publishing them in batches.
International Poetry Library country and language pages
The country and language pages are where the library is most visibly uneven. I am working first on generic pages and shelves with only one or two books. The next pass will add a brief point of entry, clearer links to translators and presses, and a useful place to continue browsing.
Country and language labels are browsing routes, not tidy boundaries. A poet may work across languages, live in diaspora, write within a regional or Indigenous tradition, or translate their own work. Those books may need to appear in more than one place. I would rather keep that overlap visible than force every book into a single answer.
International Poetry Library metadata
This project is an accumulation of book metadata. What that means is that when you see a misspelling or duplicate entry, it is usually because somewhere in a library record, listing, publisher catalogue, or individual edition, the data dropped an accent, left out a middle name, or grouped several translators into one field. I am cleaning these records as I find them, and direct corrections are welcome.
The same problem affects countries and languages. South Korea and Korea, Republic of should lead to the same shelf. Slovenian and Slovene should lead to the same language record. Historical borders, diaspora, multilingual books, and self-translation need more individual review, so some classifications will remain uncertain while I work through them.
International Poetry Library gaps
The counts show what I have found in English. They do not measure the size or importance of a country’s poetry or a language’s literary history.
Countries and languages represented by only one or two books.
Self-translated work and books by multilingual or diasporic poets.
Indigenous, minority, regional, and border languages that book metadata handles poorly.
Older small-press editions, discontinued presses, and new books that have received little coverage.
How to help
Corrections can be blunt. Send the page, the correction, and a source when you have one.
Recommend a missing book or flag a duplicate.
Share a press catalogue, spreadsheet, translator bibliography, or supported-title list.
Send an advance review copy of a translated poetry collection.
Suggest a collaboration, Reading Route, resource page, newsletter feature, or book club list.
Send corrections, books, catalogues, and collaboration ideas through the contact page.
Timeline of updates
September 2026: The library has passed 1,700 books across 93 languages. All 93 Reading Routes are drafted, and I am checking links and metadata before publication.
June 25, 2026: I updated the homepage and added more than 1,200 books. This was the jump that turned the original list into the larger public library you see now.
December 23, 2025: I started the project with a much smaller book list and a simple goal: make translated poetry easier to find while keeping translators visible.
Where to go next
Return to the International Poetry Library, browse poetry by country or by language, follow the translator index, or read the guide to poetry in translation.