International Poetry Review

The 44th issue of <i>International Poetry Review (IPR)</i> appears in a year shaped by change social and political tensions. Social distancing has frustrated our human need for sociability contact and interaction but has also gifted some of us with time for introspection. Our peer reviewers and members of the editorial team selected submissions that reflect a vast diversity of experiences voices and tones. The poems and translations cover issues such as the passage of time the fragility of life nature the choices we confront and the ones that elude us and the need for social justice and recognition. Against the backdrop of the transformative events of 2020-2021 this issue underscores the role poetry plays in building communities. By structuring <i>IPR</i> around the core principles of empathy solidarity inclusion and accessibility our goal is to become intentional about the capacity of language to enact change. The editorial committee hopes that the poems included here make poetry accessible move readers to play with words and inspire them to become writers and translators themselves.