US Poet Laureate Arthur Sze on Translating Loss and Renewal

US Poet Laureate Arthur Sze on Translating Loss and Renewal

Author: Tricycle: The Buddhist Review October 8, 2025 Duration: 58:47
Arthur Sze is a poet and translator based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and he was recently named the 25th Poet Laureate of the United States. To celebrate his appointment, we’re visiting a 2024 Tricycle Talks episode with Sze. Unlike many contemporary American poets, Sze did not attend a traditional MFA program to learn to write poetry. Instead, the National Book Award winner and Pulitzer Prize finalist turned to translation to hone his craft. His 2024 collection, The Silk Dragon II: Translations of Chinese Poetry, compiles fifty years of his translations, illustrating the vitality and versatility of the Chinese poetic tradition across nearly two millennia. In this episode of Tricycle Talks, Tricycle’s editor-in-chief, James Shaheen, sits down with Sze to discuss the ruptures and continuities between classical and contemporary Chinese poetry, the destruction and renewal inherent in the process of translation, and why Sze believes that we need translation now more than ever. Plus, he reads a few poems from his new collection.

In a world full of noise, Tricycle Talks offers a different kind of conversation. This podcast from the team at Tricycle: The Buddhist Review sits down with insightful teachers, authors, and practitioners to explore how ancient wisdom meets modern complexity. Host James Shaheen, the magazine's editor-in-chief, guides these discussions with a curious and grounded presence, often joined by co-host Sharon Salzberg for the "Life As It Is" series, which focuses on integrating practice into daily routines. What you'll hear isn't abstract theory, but tangible reflections on navigating life's big questions-from dealing with anxiety and loss to cultivating compassion and clarity in a distracted age. Each episode feels like a thoughtful dialogue, peeling back layers on meditation, ethics, and what it means to live an examined life. It’s a natural extension of the award-winning work Tricycle is known for, translating the depth of Buddhist thought into accessible, personal audio. Listening to this podcast provides a pause, a moment to reflect alongside voices who have dedicated their lives to the path, offering practical insights that resonate long after the conversation ends.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Tricycle Talks
Podcast Episodes
Listening Fearlessly with Meredith Monk [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:27
For the past sixty years, composer and interdisciplinary artist Meredith Monk has been expanding the possibilities of the human voice. A pioneer of extended vocal technique and interdisciplinary performance, she has crea…
When the Baptists Came to Burma with Alex Kaloyanides [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:34
In July 1813, a young American couple from Boston arrived in the Buddhist kingdom of Burma to preach the gospel. Although Burmese Buddhists largely resisted Christian evangelism, members of minority religious communities…
Casting Indra's Net with Pamela Ayo Yetunde [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:04
Pamela Ayo Yetunde has worked as an activist, lay Buddhist leader, chaplain, pastoral counselor, practical theologian, and teacher. In each of these roles, she has witnessed how our humanity has been distorted and how di…
Living at the Edge of Chaos with Neil Theise [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:15
Neil Theise is a professor of pathology at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine and a practicing Zen Buddhist. For the past twenty years, he has been fascinated by the science of complex systems from the infinitesimal lev…
Opening to Freedom with Sharon Salzberg [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:27
A world-renowned meditation teacher, Sharon Salzberg is the founding teacher at the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts. In her new book, "Real Life: The Journey from Isolation to Openness and Freedom," sh…
The Magic of Vajrayana with Ken McLeod [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:23
For the past forty years, Ken McLeod has worked as a translator of Tibetan texts, practices, and rituals. With his new book, "The Magic of Vajrayana," McLeod takes a more personal approach, drawing from his own experienc…
Joy as a Practice of Resistance and Belonging with Ross Gay [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:12
It can be so easy to dismiss joy as frivolous or not serious, especially in times of crisis or despair. But for poet Ross Gay, joy can be a radical and necessary act of resistance and belonging. In his new essay collecti…
An Antidote to Despair with Emma Varvaloucas [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:51
According to the recently released COVID Response Tracking Study, Americans are the unhappiest they’ve been in fifty years. Between the pandemic, mass shootings, and ongoing environmental catastrophes, it can be easy to…
How Art Can Liberate Our Perception with Charles Johnson [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:03
Charles Johnson is a novelist, essayist, screenwriter, professor, philosopher, cartoonist, and martial arts teacher—and he’s also a Tricycle contributing editor. Over the course of his career, he has published ten novels…

«1...678910