Olivia Lott

Olivia Lott is an Assistant Professor at Yale University specializing in modern and contemporary Latin American, Latinx, and hemispheric poetry, avant-garde movements, and translation studies. Her research focuses on the 1960s–70s inter-American Cold War context, particularly through her book manuscript Radical Re/Turns: Poetics of Translation in the Latin American Long Sixties. She holds a Ph.D. in Hispanic Studies from Washington University in St. Louis (2022).

Her scholarly work appears in prestigious journals such as PMLA, Comparative Literature, and Translation Studies. Lott is also a renowned translator of Latin American poetry, with awards from PEN America, the Academy of American Poets, and the University of Wisconsin Press. She co-translated Juan Calzadilla’s The Roof of the Whale Poems and Raúl Gómez Jattin’s Almost Obscure.

Before Yale, Lott held roles including Postdoctoral Research Associate at Princeton’s Latin American Studies Program (2023–24), Visiting Assistant Professor at Washington and Lee University (2022–23), and Marilyn Yarbrough Fellow at Kenyon College (2021–22). She currently serves as an advisory editor for Spoon River Poetry Review.

• Education: Ph.D. in Hispanic Studies, Washington University in St. Louis (2022)

Her research explores intersections between translation, political resistance, and avant-garde aesthetics. Recent publications analyze Juan Gelman’s Cold War poetry and the role of legibility in literary translation debates. Lott’s translations bridge Latin American and U.S. literary landscapes, emphasizing marginalized voices from the inter-American Cold War era.

• Awards:
  • PEN America Recognition
  • Academy of American Poets Award
  • Words Without Borders Translation Prize
  • University of Wisconsin Press Honor

Lott’s interdisciplinary work connects literary analysis with historical context, particularly Cold War cultural politics. She advises on poetry publications and collaborates on translation projects that challenge traditional literary canons.