About us

"When we speak, we speak to everyone." –Alberto Ríos

Aiming to present the human voice in all its manifestations, Thousand Languages is a dynamic, multilingual translation project and database exploring the art and scholarship of literary translation at Arizona State University. Featured languages currently on the site include: Chinese, Greek, Romanian, Spanish, Turkish, and Urdu.

The Thousand Languages Project

The Thousand Languages Project is a living, ever-developing database featuring translations of the work originally appearing in Hayden’s Ferry Review transformed from its original English into manifold world languages. 

Hayden’s Ferry Review (HFR), the award-winning, international literary journal run by Creative Writing MFA students at Arizona State University, has been publishing writing in translation alongside the work of celebrated and emerging English-language authors for over 30 years. The Thousand Languages Project extends this commitment to cultural exchange by increasing worldwide access to literature originally written in English. Featuring translations created primarily by graduate and undergraduate students of Arizona State University’s School of International Letters and Cultures, the Thousand Languages Project values both the everyday utility of the art and craft of translation and the intellectual and artistic contribution it makes to our larger culture. As translators and artists, we aim to connect people across the globe; to advance translation as an art, science, and necessity; and to document and make accessible the history of one of the literary community’s long-standing institutions.

Thousand Languages is an HFR special project and a Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing initiative at Arizona State University.

Contact The Thousand Languages Project

Project Manager:
Dr. Jacqueline Balderrama
jtbalder@asu.edu

      450 E Tyler Mall
      Tempe, AZ 85281

Hayden's Ferry Review

Founded in 1986, Hayden’s Ferry Review is a semi-annual & international literary journal edited by the MFA students at Arizona State University. Work from Hayden’s Ferry Review has been included in the Pushcart Prize Anthology, Best American Poetry, and Best New Poets. HFR has notable pieces in Best American Short Stories, Best American Essays, Best American Mystery Stories, and the Pushcart Prize Anthology. Hayden’s Ferry Review looks for well-crafted work that takes risks, challenges readers, and engages us emotionally and artistically.

Image credit: I Hear the Water Dreaming by Joe Tsambiras (HFR 65)

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I Hear the Water Dreaming by Joe Tsambiras (HFR 65)
Illustration of the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing

The Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing

Following a philanthropic legacy of supporting arts and culture throughout Maricopa County, the Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust founded the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing with a historic gift to Arizona State University in 2003. The Piper Center is a non-academic university center dedicated to offering talks, readings, classes, workshops, and other literary events and programs for the larger community.

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