Action books is an independent press housed at the English Department at

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

. The editors are Johannes Göransson and

Joyelle McSweeney Joyelle McSweeney (first name meaning: Rejoicing) (born 1976) is a poet, playwright, novelist, critic, and professor at the University of Notre Dame. Her books include ''Toxicon & Arachne'' (2021) from Nightboat Books, ''The Necropastoral: Poetry, ...

. The press publishes form-breaking and hybrid work with a focus on texts in translation. Action Books has had three books on the poetry shortlist for the

Best Translated Book Award The Best Translated Book Award is an American literary award that recognizes the previous year's best original translation into English, one book of poetry and one of fiction. It was inaugurated in 2008 and is conferred by Three Percent, the onlin ...

Jeffrey Angles (born 1971) is a poet who writes free verse in his second language, Japanese. He is also an American scholar of modern Japanese literature and an award-winning literary translator of modern Japanese poetry and fiction into English. He is a pro ...

' translation of ''Killing Kanoko'' by

Hiromi Ito Hiromi may refer to: *Hiromi, Ehime, city in Shikoku, Japan *Hiromi (given name), unisex Japanese given name (including a list of persons with the name) * Hiromi (comedian), Japanese comedian *Hiromi (model), Japanese fashion model *Meitetsu Hiromi ...

(2010),

Molly Weigel Molly, Mollie or mollies may refer to: Animals * ''Poecilia'', a genus of fishes ** ''Poecilia sphenops'', a fish species * A female mule (horse–donkey hybrid) People * Molly (name) or Mollie, a female given name, including a list of persons ...

's translation of ''In the Moremarrow'' by

Oliverio Girondo Oliverio Girondo (August 17, 1891 – January 24, 1967) was an Argentine poet. He was born in Buenos Aires to a relatively wealthy family, enabling him from a young age to travel to Europe, where he studied in both Paris and England. He is perhap ...

(2014), and ''Cheer Up, Femme Fatale'' by Yideum Kim translated by Ji Yoon Lee,

Don Mee Choi Don Mee Choi is a Korean-American poet and translator. Life Don Mee Choi was born in Seoul, South Korea and now lives in Leipzig, Germany. In addition to her own poetry, she is a prolific translator of modern Korean women poets, including sever ...

, and Johannes Göransson (2017). ''Sorrowtoothpaste Mirrorcream'' by

Kim Hyesoon Kim Hyesoon () is a South Korean poet. Life Kim Hyesoon was born in Uljin County, North Gyeongsang Province. She was raised by her grandmother and had tuberculous pleurisy as a child. She received her Ph.D. in Korean literature from Konkuk U ...

, translated by

, was a finalist for the 2015

PEN Award for Poetry in Translation The PEN Award for Poetry in Translation is given by PEN America (formerly PEN American Center) to honor a poetry translation published in the preceding year. The award should not be confused with the PEN Translation Prize. The award is one of many ...

References

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