Announcement! NELC Department Poetry Project!

September 28, 2020

Announcement! NELC Department Poetry Project!

Persian Poem Inscription on Agra Castle (India)

Special Announcement! NELC Department Poetry Project

Since the dawn of human civilization, poetry has played a vital role in transmitting culture, expressing individual identity, and developing community. Few regions in the world is this more true than the regions of the world of which the OSU Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures are especially interested, the Middle East, Central Asia, and South Asia.

As we navigate the peculiar and disorienting 2020-2021 Academic Year, we invite our students, faculty, staff, and community members to join us in a celebration of poetry!

NELC Poetry Project home page:

To participate:

  • Choose a short poem or poem excerpt written in one of the languages we teach (Arabic, Hebrew, Hindi, Persian, Turkish, or Uzbek)
  • Provide an English translation of the poem (by you or someone else)
  • Create a short video or audio recording of you reading the poem (In the original language or in that language and English)
  • Provide a brief written statement of why you chose the poem. Reasons for sharing a particular poem may be personal, academic, linguistic, or other. We’d like to see poetry approached from a variety of perspectives!

After you send your NELC Poetry Project submission (to, we will have a language instructor verify the translation (and provide feedback/assistance if necessary), and add it to this website. We will also share submitted poems on our social media channels.

Please join us in this project as we celebrate poetry and the ways in which words and language bring us together and broaden our world views!