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In this essay, Anandi Mishra considers the role Hindi films have played in the development of her relationship with her mother. August, the season of ripeness. The shadows lighten, gardens ache with flowers, and there is an abundance of foliage. This particular August marked seventeen months of being locked indoors, and it ushered in my mother, who came from 400 kilometers away to spend a few days with me. We were meeting after more than two years apart. By the time she arrived, it had...

Juan Gabriel Vásquez gave the inaugural Lancaster International Fiction Lecture on Tuesday, October 12, at 7:30 PM BST as part of Litfest's “Autumn Weekend” (October 7–12).  The year Pablo Escobar was killed was the year I realized I would become a writer. Escobar was, of course, the head of the drug cartel whose war against the Colombian state had shaped my teenage years, beginning with the murder of a minister of justice in 1984—I...

The languages featured in this issue take us back more than five hundred years, when the monsoon winds brought traders from the Arabian Peninsula, China, and India to the Malay Archipelago. Language contact between different Asian communities who sailed across the seas to trade, and the arrival of first the Portuguese and Spanish, and later the Dutch and British, in Asia resulted in the development of hybrid communities, out of which arose new contact languages, often referred to as...

In this traditional folktale passed down orally from one generation to the next, pregnant women turn into demons.   Sara Frederica Santa Maria reads "The Gut Demons" in the original Melaka Portuguese.   Long ago, deep in the jungle, there lived six pregnant women. Every day they would go hunting for food. This activity exhausted them, as their bellies grew bigger and heavier by the day. One day, they gathered to speak about their troubles. One of them suggested that they...

In this self-translation, the late Filipino poet Francis C. Macansantos masks the dark side of the ocean with deceptively seductive language.   Listen to Dr. Sonia Macansantos Alensub read Francis C. Macansantos's "Ojos del marijada" in the original Zamboangueño Chavacano. Stop looking for the wave’s eyes. With its whole body it gazes at you, Eyes of blue-green watch you, Dimpled smiles hidden in water. Laughter of clouds at its crest Doing a little dance...

A dying man contemplates his poverty and the heavens in this self-translation by the late Filipino poet Francis C. Macansantos.   Listen to Dr. Sonia Macansantos Alensub read Francis C. Macansantos's "Ñor Marcos" in the original Zamboangueño Chavacano. Mr. Marcos, a junk dealer, was found dead at dawn, still seated on a bench overlooking the sea at the Zamboanga wharf. —News Report   Dawn till twilight I’m on the lookout for empty containers To...

The origins and heritage of the Melaka Chetti people take center stage in this pantun, a traditional Malay poetic form. Listen to K. Vimala Devi Rajah (d/o G. Kandasamy Rajah) read "Pantun" by Nironjini Pillay, Shagina Bhalan, Nadarajan Mudaliar, and Mahendran Pillay in the original Chetti Malay. Traveling from India to Melaka, Dealing in spices, cloth, and copper. We are known as the Chetti of Melaka, Guardians of tradition and culture. Sporting shirts with bronze buttons we...

This poem praises the people, the land, and the culture of the Sri Lanka Portuguese Burgher community. Listen to Magin Mario Balthazaar read "Tééra nósa viida" in the original Sri Lanka Portuguese. The fish sing over here,  The fish sing. If you go to the seashore You will hear them. The shrimp fishermen Are catching crabs. Let’s buy some fish And live the good life. What’s the name of our land?  It is Batticaloa. How beautiful is...

Dancing figures prominently in this short love poem.   Listen to Magin Mario Balthazaar read "Minha ámoor nóóna" in the original Sri Lanka Portuguese. My beloved lady, my sweet lady, Come and sing so beautifully. There will be no trouble, life will be good, Come and dance the káfriinha.1 Beside the house, On the nearby fence, Hang your skirts and all to dry, Then take them back inside. Your face is like a rose blossom, I quickly take your...

This laudatory poem in Patuá celebrates what makes Macau unique.   Listen to H. Miguel de Senna Fernades read "Macau nôs-sa téra" in the original Patuá. Macau, our homeland Humble, though of great nobility A tiny land of a thousand wonders A flower for anyone in grief Macau, our homeland In the world there is no other like you Home of peace, of charity A home for every soul Macau, a holy name blessed by God Macau, a sweet treasure that we keep A...

Last night, Naveen Kishore, the founder and publisher of Seagull Books, received the 2021 Ottaway Award for the Promotion of International Literature. At the celebratory cocktail reception in New York, Jeff Deutsch, the director of Seminary Co-op Bookstores in Chicago, accepted the Ottaway Award on behalf of Mr. Kishore and presented the following laudatory remarks. Mr. Kishore's acceptance speech is available here. It is a tremendous privilege to be here with all of you...

"Afroinsularity" is one of two winning poems selected by Airea D. Matthews for the 2021 Words Without Borders—Academy of American Poets Poems in Translation Contest.   Words Without Borders · Poems in Translation Contest: "Afroinsularity," by Conceição Lima, tr. Shook Listen above to Shook read their translation of Conceição Lima's "Afroinsularity"   They left the islands a legacy  of hybrid...

Last night, Naveen Kishore, the founder and publisher of Seagull Books, received the 2021 Ottaway Award for the Promotion of International Literature. Joining the celebratory cocktail reception in New York via video from Kolkata, Mr. Kishore shared the following acceptance speech. The laudatory remarks presented by Jeff Deutsch of Seminary Co-op are available here.   There are days when the worms emerge. And slither into the raging waters. In my head.   At...

Happy International Translation Day! To ensure that you're squeezing in as much translation as possible on this special day, we've made a list of ten great translated books that feature translator characters. From Japan, Denmark, Mexico, Lebanon, and more, these titles delve into the joys, challenges, and (sometimes life-and-death!) responsibilities that define the work of the translator. Though this list is by no means exhaustive, we hope it will serve as a starting...

Each month, Tobias Carroll shares a handful of recently released or forthcoming titles in translation that he’s especially excited about. This month's selection includes books translated from Bosnian, Chinese, Spanish, and German.   From Sandorf Passage | Call Me Esteban by Lejla Kalamuji​​ć, translated from the Bosnian by Jennifer Zoble | Fiction | 128 pages | ISBN 9789533513249 | US$14.95 What the publisher says: “With unapologetic...

This year, we partnered with the Academy of American Poets to bring you the third edition of the Poems-in-Translation Contest. We received 606 poems from 327 poets and 79 countries, translated from 61 languages. This year’s winners were selected by Pew Fellow and Yale Series of Younger Poets winner Airea D. Matthews. The winning poems will be published in Words Without Borders and in POETS.org’s Poem-a-Day on Saturday, September 25, and Saturday, October 2. Published...

"0" is one of two winning poems selected by Airea D. Matthews for the 2021 Words Without Borders—Academy of American Poets Poems in Translation Contest. Don't miss Lauri García Dueñas and Olivia Lott on Monday, September 27 at the Brooklyn Book Festival.   Words Without Borders · Poems in Translation Contest: "0," by Lauri García Dueñas, tr. Olivia Lott Listen to Olivia Lott read her translation of Lauri...

In recent years, a proliferation of books in translation for children and young adults has brought imaginative stories from around the world to new readers. We’re speaking with some of the extraordinary publishers who make these books possible about their experience working in this vital field. For the twelfth installment in the series, we spoke with Julia Marshall, publisher of New Zealand–based Gecko Press.   Could you tell us about the history of Gecko...

Magda Cârneci’s FEM was first published in Romanian a decade ago (Cartea Românească, 2011) and reissued by Polirom in its popular “Top 10+” series in 2014. The novel was nominated for the annual award of the Romanian Writers’ Union, the Augustin Frăţilă Award, and for prestigious awards given by Radio România Cultural and the cultural weekly Observator cultural. Its first foreign translation, by Florica Courriol, was published in...

PEN International, with 155 centers in more than 100 countries, celebrates its centennial this year with writers around the world who share a commitment to freedom of expression, to literature and the written word, and to each other. Its younger cousin Words Without Borders, launched in 2003, has translated into English and published over 2700 writers from 140 countries, translated from 126 languages. Both organizations were founded in the wake of cataclysmic global events. PEN...

A wealthy Haitian family is thrown into chaos by an unexpected return in this excerpt from Kettly Mars's novel. Grégoire knew that Alexandre would be coming home to live with them soon. He had a knack for this sort of thing. He had a knack for a lot of things, for as long as he could remember. He could've put money on it. But he never was a betting man. Everyone in the family trusted Grégoire’s intuition. Maybe the others thought about it too,...

In this excerpt from a novel by Algeria's Mohamed Magani, folk tales foreshadow a family's sorrow. In the middle of an interior facade sunken in abiding shadow hung a water-swollen goatskin lashed to an iron rod. It wept lazy droplets into a broad, flat-edged metal saucer. Safe from prying eyes, stray cats and dogs, birds, rats, parched snakes and scorpions came by turns to slake their thirst at this ganglion that with the start of high summer became an unstinting wellspring...

Former lovers meet unexpectedly and confront the truth of their breakup in this excerprt from Nazlı Karabıyıkoğlu's novel Elfiye. As Elfiye opened the door she turned her head slowly to tell the one behind her how much of a mess the house was. “Sorry, hon,” she muttered once they were inside, and closed the door. They stepped right into the living room, since the apartment didn’t have a hallway, and her guest went to the window to...

Max Lobe's novel A Long Way from Douala, translated by Ros Schwartz, is out next month from Other Press. The novel follows the narrator, Jean, and his friend Simon, as they search for Jean's brother Roger, who has run away from home in hopes of crossing illegally into Europe. In the excerpt below, against the wishes of a family friend with whom they are staying, Jean and Simon plan to journey toward northern Cameroon, where the presence of Boko Haram has...

As a pandemic defined by isolation stretches ever onward, our third Poems in Translation Contest brought together 606 poems from 327 poets and 79 countries, translated from 61 languages. We are thrilled to announce, alongside our partners at the Academy of American Poets, this year’s winners, selected by Pew Fellow and Yale Series of Younger Poets winner Airea D. Matthews. The winning poems will published in Words Without Borders and in POETS.org’s Poem-a-Day on Saturday,...