In 2007, BOA Editions published The Clean Shirt of It through our Lannan Translation Selections Series. The Clean Shirt of It is the first English translation of a full-length poetry title by acclaimed Brazilian poet Paulo Henriques Britto. The book was masterfully translated by Idra Novey who also wrote an Introduction to the collection. American Poet had this to say about the collection: "Britto is deeply aware of and involved in the poetics and politics of his country but, as is expressed through his poetry, lives in the shifting, indefinable cultural space that often produces the most felt and honest poetry...His poems manage to be extremely contemporary and timeless, political, yet not rhetorical or nationalistic." You can read more about the book (including how to buy a copy) here: http://www.boaeditions.org/bookstore/details.php?prodId=150 We were busting with pride to learn that, as of this fall, Idra has been named Director of Columbia University’s Center for Literary Translation (www.centerforliterarytranslation.org), where she is overseeing the launch of a joint writing and translation program for MFA students in the School of the Arts. This is a distinguished position for a young translator and we applaud Idra on her great efforts (and successes) in bringing translated poetry into America's poetry discussion; a mission that we here at BOA believe is more important than ever. Keep up the great work, Idra! We're also pleased to say that in December, Idra will serve as guest blogger here at the BOA blog. Her focus - naturally - will be poetry in translation. Here's a little more about Idra to get you excited about her upcoming guest blogs: Idra Novey's first collection of poems, The Next Country, received the Kinereth Gensler Award from Alice James Books and was released in 2008. She's received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Poetry Society of America, and the PEN Translation Fund. Her poems appear in Slate, A Public Space, Paris Review, American Poetry Review, and in various anthologies. Her translations include a collection of poems by Paulo Henriques Britto published with BOA Editions, The Clean Shirt of It (2007), a collection by Manoel de Barros forthcoming in 2010, and a novel in prose poems by the Argentinian writer Vizconde de Lascano Tegui forthcoming in 2011. This fall she became the director of Columbia University’s Center for Literary Translation (www.centerforliterarytranslation.org), where she is overseeing the launch of a joint writing and translation program for MFA students in the School of the Arts. [caption id="attachment_102" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Idra Novey. BOA translator."][/caption]