Ancient Algorithms

by Katrine Øgaard Jensen, Ursula Andkjær Olsen (Contributor), Sawako Nakayasu (Contributor)

In Ancient Algorithms, Katrine Øgaard Jensen mistranslates, rewrites, and remixes her award-winning translations of Danish Ursula Andkjær Olsen’s poetry based on a series of self-imposed rules and rituals in collaboration with poets Sawako Nakayasu, Aditi Machado, CAConrad, Baba Badji, Paul Cunningham, and Ursula Andkjær Olsen herself. Envisioned as a shared debut, this collection of collaborative poems is equal parts exercise and exorcism, a haunting of literary influences that repositions translation as the very act of writing—exploring what it means for something to be an original, a translation, a poem.

111 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 30, 2025

About the author

Katrine Øgaard Jensen is a poet and translator of Danish literature. She is the author of Ancient Algorithms (Sarabande Books, 2025), a collaborative book of poems with Baba Badji, CAConrad, Paul Cunningham, Aditi Machado, Sawako Nakayasu, and Ursula Andkjær Olsen. A recipient of several fellowships and awards—including the National Translation Award in Poetry, the Kenyon Review’s Peter Taylor Fellowship, the Danish Arts Foundation’s Young Artistic Elite Fellowship, and Kjeld Elfelt’s Memorial Grant from the Danish Translators’ Association—her translations include Third-Millennium Heart (Action Books, 2017), Outgoing Vessel (Action Books, 2021), and My Jewel Box (Action Books, 2022), all by Ursula Andkjær Olsen, as well as To The Most Beautiful by Mette Moestrup (co•im•press, 2024). Previously, she taught Creative Writing and Literary Translation at Columbia University, where she also served as Acting Director of Literary Translation at Columbia (LTAC). Jensen currently serves as Executive Director of the American Literary Translators Association (ALTA).

Reviews

[Joseph Schreiber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Starting with poems by Danish poet Ursula Andkær Olsen, translator poet Katrine Øgaard Jensen begins with her translations of Olsen poems in collaboration with other poet translators including Olsen herself to mistranslate, engage with and expand the originals in surprising directions. Each collaboration branches off in its own unique ways, but throughout the echo of Olsen's distinct poetic voice can be heard. It is an original and inspiring project. As someone well acquainted with Olsen's trilogy—Third Millennium Heart, Outgoing Vessel, and My Jewel Box—who has also had the privilege of facilitating a conversation between the poet and her translator, I found this an irresistible opportunity to experience poetry as an ever growing and evolving conversation, one entirely in keeping with Olsen's poetic spirit.

A longer review can be found here: https://roughghosts.com/2025/12/19/ex...

[Maja Teref · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this on the plane from Tucson to Chicago- this is the 21st century Oulipo!!!