“The Thin Lash of Silence”: On Monika Herceg’s “Initial Coordinates”The first English translation of the spare, lyrical work of a major Croatian poet....CORY OLDWEILERAROUND THE WORLDPOETRY
After the Mauerfall: On Ulrich Gutmair’s “The First Days of Berlin: The Sound of Change”The fall of the Berlin Wall opened up a space of possibility for German musical culture....BENJAMIN SHULLAROUND THE WORLD
Scenes from a Refugee Help CenterErika Monahan on what she saw at a help station in Germany....ERIKA MONAHANAROUND THE WORLD
Zábrana OverheardThe first collection of poetry by Jan Zábrana in English translation is a lyrical palimpsest of texts and voices....JUSTIN QUINNAROUND THE WORLD
Feels Like Home: Two Chinese Poets on Love, Longing, and DistanceAnne Henochowicz looks at two recently translated books by Wang Yin and Yu Xiuhua....ANNE HENOCHOWICZAROUND THE WORLDPOETRY
A Heart Out of Sync at the “Chaktomuk” in CambodiaFarah Abdessamad poignantly details the Tonle Sap Lake’s slow death in her review of Abby Seiff’s book on the subject....FARAH ABDESSAMADAROUND THE WORLD
The Yankee Who Didn’t Go Home: On Robert Whiting’s “Tokyo Junkie”An American author’s memoir of his six decades in Japan and his love affair with Tokyo....COLIN MARSHALLAROUND THE WORLD
There’s No Place Like HomeDubravka Ugrešić follows humanity’s gaze toward Oz, in an essay translated by Ellen Elias-Bursać....DUBRAVKA UGREŠIĆAROUND THE WORLD
Recovering Albanian Voices: A Conversation with Margo RejmerThe author discusses her newly translated book, “Mud Sweeter than Honey: Voices of Communist Albania.”...NINA HERZOGAROUND THE WORLD
From the Silk Road to New JerseyMartin Laflamme on the first-ever publication of the entire Lo Archive, a collection of photographs which captures the glory of the Buddhist caves of Dunhuang....MARTIN LAFLAMMEAROUND THE WORLD
Russia’s Blatant Violation of International LawDon Franzen interviews Mark Ellis about the legal implications of the Russian invasion of Ukraine....DON FRANZENAROUND THE WORLDLAWPOLITICS
Real Life Stories: A Conversation with Bel OlidThe Catalan author discusses her newly translated collection of stories, “Wilder Winds.”...LIAM BISHOPAROUND THE WORLD
Diplomatic Epithets: On Peter Martin’s “China’s Civilian Army” and Yuan-Tsung Chen’s “The Secret Listener: An Ingenue in Mao’s Court”Anatol Klass reviews two books about China's diplomacy....ANATOL KLASSAROUND THE WORLD
The Life of Nostalgic Content: On Li ZiqiStephanie Wong contemplates the realities of migrant labor in China, alongside the aestheticized content of rural lifestyle vlogger Li Ziqi....STEPHANIE WONGAROUND THE WORLD
“What Is Old Can Sometimes Feel New”: A Conversation with Andre BagooThe Trinidadian author on the ambivalent legacy of V. S. Naipaul and the challenge of depicting a queer Caribbean....STEPHEN NARAINAROUND THE WORLD
The Language of the Misfit: On Oğuz Atay’s “The Disconnected”A great Turkish cult novel of the early ’70s is available in English translation (sort of)....HELEN MACKREATHAROUND THE WORLDFICTION
Generation Independence: Armenia’s Literary SuperheroesA vibrant young cohort of experimental writers is transforming Armenian literature....CHRISTOPHER ATAMIANAROUND THE WORLD
The Guts of the Living: On Polina Barskova’s “Air Raid”Ainsley Morse and Michael M. Weinstein dive into “Air Raid,” a collection of poems by Polina Barskova, translated from the Russian by Valzhyna Mort....AINSLEY MORSE, MICHAEL M. WEINSTEINAROUND THE WORLD
Hernán Hoyos: The Sex Scribe of CaliKurt Hollander profiles the pioneering Hernán Hoyos, a breaker of literary taboos in Cali, Colombia....KURT HOLLANDERAROUND THE WORLD
Vladimir COVID: A Virtual Diary in a Week of Virtual WarPeter Pomerantsev ponders Vladimir Putin’s murky intentions towards Ukraine while confronting the uncertainty of a COVID....PETER POMERANTSEVAROUND THE WORLD
Feast and Fight: A New Adaptation of “Samak the Ayar”The tale of a Persian Robin Hood who hoodwinks his enemies yet keeps a stern moral code....KEVIN BLANKINSHIPAROUND THE WORLD
“Assa”: The Film that Brought Down the Soviet UnionSam Kahn looks back at “Assa,” the 1987 cult film that put Soviet rock on the map. Its director, Sergei Solovyov, died on December 13, 2021....SAM KAHNAROUND THE WORLDFILM
The Camp and the City (Eastern Times/Western Times)Into what system are migrants welcomed? What are the prescriptions of the request?...CHRIS CAMPANIONIAROUND THE WORLD
Evocative Accounts of Soon-to-Vanish Sites: Recent — and Not So Recent — Hong Kong Poetry and ProseGrappling with Hong Kong’s present and future via a bumper crop of fiction and poetry....ANDREA LINGENFELTERAROUND THE WORLD