Crossing Tongues · Open Call
Translation Workshop
What happens to a poem when it crosses a language? Join poets and language practitioners to explore what shifts, travels and comes alive in translation.
Free to attend · Limited places · Apply by 25 November 2026
About the workshop
Poetry between languages
As part of the Crossing Tongues: Nigeria–Scotland Poetry Residency, Open Arts and the Hausa International Book and Arts Festival invite you to a collaborative poetry translation workshop.
Co-curated and facilitated by the Nigerian and Scottish poets taking part in the residency, the workshop treats poetry as a space for negotiation: between sound and meaning, the written and spoken word, cultural memory and interpretation.
Through reading, listening, discussion and experimentation, participants will work with poems, words, rhythms and cultural references that resist straightforward translation. The aim is to explore different possibilities for carrying poetry across languages—not to find one “correct” translation.
Who can apply
Bring your curiosity
Applications are welcome from poets, creative writers, literary translators and emerging translators, students and researchers, spoken-word and oral literature practitioners, and anyone interested in Hausa, English, translation or multilingual creative practice. You do not need to be a professional translator, and previous translation experience is not required. Knowledge of Hausa is welcome but not required.
Application
What to include
Complete the application form and briefly tell us:
- Who you are and what you do
- What languages you speak, read, write or work with
- Why you would like to participate
- What interests you about poetry, language or translation
Applications close 25 November 2026.
Open the application formCrossing Tongues is a Nigeria–Scotland poetry exchange led by Open Arts and HIBAF, in partnership with Push the Boat Out and Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature, with support from the British Council and Creative Scotland Momentum Follow-up Fund.