We are delighted to showcase a selection of entries and award-winning works from Poems Without Borders: A Contest to Celebrate World Poetry Day, organized by the EDI Committee of the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures, with support from the Arts Opportunity Fund.

This exhibition brings together a vibrant collection of poems by McGill Faculty of Arts students, highlighting the richness of linguistic diversity and creative expression across cultures. The works on display move fluidly between languages including English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, Italian, and Turkish, often accompanied by thoughtful translations that open new pathways of understanding.

From meditations on memory, identity, and loss to reflections on love, faith, migration, and belonging, these poems demonstrate the many ways poetry can transform both personal and collective experience. Some contributors engage as original creators, while others reinterpret existing works—revealing how poetry continues to evolve across voices, media, and traditions.

Visitors will encounter pieces such as Gefei Zhang’s Redpath Museum, a quiet reflection on time and material culture; Mariana Monsalve Orozco’s visceral A hundred deaths and lyrical Mi gran amor; and Serena Chouery’s award-winning L’ombre et la passion, which explores light, longing, and emotional intensity through richly layered imagery. Also featured are Jiayuan Cao’s prize-winning creative interpretation of Jorge Luis Borges’ El enamorado and Mariane Cousineau Rousseau’s Packing List, a free-verse work that adds another dimension to the exhibit’s engagement with voice and form, alongside intimate portraits, elegies, and collaborative pieces.

Together, these poems affirm the enduring and transformative power of poetry to connect us across languages, disciplines, and lived experiences.

We invite you to explore the exhibit and experience the many voices that make up this year’s Poems Without Borders along the ground floor Redpath hallway.