PWB graphic

Poetry Without Borders

Poetry Without Borders is an annual event in March that celebrates the linguistic diversity of the NMU community! Students, faculty, staff, and community members present poetry in languages other than English. Refreshments, appetizers, and English translations are provided.

For more information on this year's theme, see the UNITED conference's website.

United Conference
Group of presenters at Poetry Without Borders

Event Information

March 2027

Northern Center Ballrooms

Dr. Yang presenting

Call for Presenters

Join our department in celebrating the linguistic diversity of the NMU community by presenting at the event! Whether you're currently in a 100-level language course or you're a native speaker, we encourage all of our language students to present a poem in a language other than English.

Faculty/staff and community members are always welcome!

Using the form below, please submit the original poem and English translation by March 9.

Submit your poem here!

In previous years, we've featured poems from 20+ languages:

  • American Sign Language
  • Anishinaabemowin
  • Arabic
  • Armenian
  • Basque
  • Burmese
  • Chinese
  • Czech
  • Finnish
  • French
  • Galician
  • German
  • Greek
  • Hindi
  • Jamaican Patois
  • Japanese
  • Korean
  • Lusoga
  • Odawa
  • Ojibwe
  • Polish
  • Portuguese
  • Russian
  • Spanglish
  • Spanish
  • Thai
  • Ukrainian
  • Urdu
Dr. Zimmer at event

Want more information?

First, scroll down for our Frequently Asked Questions!

Direct any further questions and concerns to Dr. Zimmer at anzimmer@nmu.edu or the LLIS department at llis@nmu.edu.

If you're interested in the benefits of language study, check out the link below.

Why study a language?

Frequently Asked Questions

Any language other than English!

We also accept English-based creole languages such as Jamaican Patois, hybrid languages like Spanglish, and visual languages like American Sign Language.

Not at all!

We welcome any poetry in languages other than English. Of course, we always love to see presenters' original work, but you may choose any poem showcasing another language. Make sure to credit the original poet, though!

We strongly encourage submitting poems related to each year's conference theme. If you can connect the poem to the theme in any way (as you'll explain in the submission form), it probably works! Contact Dr. Zimmer at anzimmer@nmu.edu for any related questions or to request an exception.

Absolutely! 

We consider songs to be a form of poetry. Feel free to bring an instrument to play along, or just sing a cappella!

There are a few options for this! 

  1. You can translate it yourself, using dictionaries such as WordReference.com to find the words you don't know. 
  2. Request translation assistance from your language professor; they're often happy to help! We recommend trying it yourself first and consulting them with any additional questions.
  3. Many poems have English translations online for your convenience!

Of course!

If you will not be presenting the poem, you will need to find someone to present it in your place. Email llis@nmu.edu to briefly explain the situation, along with the following information:

  • poem title
  • your name
  • the name and email of the person presenting in your place

If you can't find a replacement presenter, please email llis@nmu.edu or anzimmer@nmu.edu as soon as possible so that we can remove you from the program.

No worries!

Be sure to get in touch with llis@nmu.edu or anzimmer@nmu.edu as soon as possible so that we can remove you from the program.

Thank you for your interest in Poetry Without Borders! We look forward to seeing you as a presenter or audience member.