Words Without Borders
The World Through the Eyes of Writers: An Anthology
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- $4.99
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
Featuring the work of more than 28 writers from upwards of 20 countries, this collection transports us to the frontiers of twenty-first century literature.
In these pages, some of the most accomplished writers in world literature–among them Edwidge Danticat, Ha Jin, Cynthia Ozick, Javier Marias, and Nobel laureates Wole Soyinka, Günter Grass, Czeslaw Milosz, Wislawa Szymborska, and Naguib Mahfouz–have stepped forward to introduce us to dazzling literary talents virtually unknown to readers of English. Most of their work–short stories, poems, essays, and excerpts from novels–appears here in English for the first time.
The Chilean writer Ariel Dorfman introduces us to a story of extraordinary poise and spiritual intelligence by the Argentinian writer Juan Forn. The Romanian writer Norman Manea shares with us the sexy, sinister, and thrillingly avant garde fiction of his homeland’s leading female novelist. The Indian writer Amit Chaudhuri spotlights the Bengali writer Parashuram, whose hilarious comedy of manners imagines what might have happened if Britain had been colonized by Bengal. And Roberto Calasso writes admiringly of his fellow Italian Giorgio Manganelli, whose piece celebrates the Indian city of Madurai.
Every piece here–be it from the Americas, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, South Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia, or the Caribbean–is a discovery, a colorful thread in a global weave of literary exchange.
Edited by Samantha Schnee, Alane Salierno Mason, and Dedi Felman
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In his introduction, Andre Dubus III points out that in a time when globalization is a fact of life, and only 6% of books in translation are translated into English, there exists fertile territory for misunderstanding, unresolved conflict, and yes, war. Luckily, this timely literary collection from the editors of wordswithoutborders.org brings the world, freshly translated, to curious English speakers everywhere, picking up where their Literature from the Axis of Evil left off. In this new anthology, 27 well-known authors (G nter Grass, Jonathan Safran Foer, Naguib Mahfouz, etc.) were asked to recommend work by a favorite non-English writer. Choices span the globe, including Haiti (Evelyne Trouillot), Norway (Johan Harstad), Bosnia (Senadin Musabegovic) and Palestine (Adania Shibli). Ma Jian sets his breathtaking chase of a short story in modern-day China, Jo Kyung-ran deals with family and identity in Korea, and Seno Gumira Ajidarma's gripping, forceful story gives voice to children making their homes in Indonesian gutters. Top-notch writers, editors and translators have created a stimulating, acutely relevant collection that readers will want to take their time enjoying.
