Chapter 1 Tsito Every time I watch the fampitaha, my heart aches, and I can see Sahasoa again, where I spent the first years of my life with the people under the sky. I can see Fara again, who was crowned queen of the competition. Back then, we still rolled the gatestones across the entrances … Continue reading Excerpt: Beyond the Rice Fields by Naivo
Catalyst Press is an independent press founded in 2017. At Catalyst, we see books as a spark or catalyst for change in the world. We seek to publish books that reveal the world from different perspectives, tilting or reversing or tweaking our own understanding of what’s real, true, necessary, or beautiful. Catalyst’s publishing program will … Continue reading Publisher Spotlight: Catalyst Press
A New York Times Notable Book A Time Magazine “Best Comix of the Year” A San Francisco Chronicle and Los Angeles Times Best-seller Wise, funny, and heartbreaking, Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi’s graphic memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. In powerful black-and-white comic strip images, Satrapi tells the story of her life … Continue reading International Banned Book Pick: Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
Desperate to make ends meet, Ombima commits a “harmless” crime. When he tries to conceal his misdeed, the simple farm laborer becomes a reluctant participant in a sinister affair. If discovered, the consequences could be disastrous for Ombima’s family, friends, and a spate of unwitting, gossipy villagers. A delicious tale of greed, lust, and betrayal, … Continue reading Title Pick: Forbidden Fruit by Stanley Gazemba
A Caribbean zombie, smart, gentlemanly, financially independent and a top executive in an important pharmaceutical company, becomes obsessed with finding the formula that would reverse his condition and allow him to become “a real person.” In the process, three of his closest collaborators (cerebral and calculating Isadore, wide-eyed and sentimental Mathilde, and rambunctious Patricia), guide … Continue reading Title Pick: Wicked Weeds by Pedro Cabiya
Explaining immigration to children is a challenge. I want my children to have an understanding of the things they hear and the world around them, good and bad. That being said, I also want to protect my child from the most gruesome elements if possible. I turn to books. I have found two recent picture … Continue reading Immigration through the Eyes of a Child
In this launch of our new column on international challenged books, we are focusing on a world-renowned book that many readers never think of as a translation: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank. Although you may be fully aware that Anne Frank was Dutch, have you ever given any thought to the translator behind … Continue reading International Banned Book Pick: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
Wangari Maathai said, “Trees are living symbols of peace and hope.” The trees that she and her Green Belt Movement planted are more than symbols, they are the result of the hard work of the women she enlisted to replant Kenya’s forests, replenish the wildlife, and instill democracy among the people. This simply told story … Continue reading USBBY Outstanding International Book Pick: Wangari Maathai: The Woman Who Planted Millions of Trees by Franck Prévot
Few have written more memorably about the work of poetry and the poetics of work than Juan Ramón Jiménez, winner of a Nobel Prize and discerning teacher of an entire generation of Spanish poets. In this series of aphorisms, Jiménez brings together the elements of perfect work, both in writing and in other realms. Among … Continue reading Title Pick: The Complete Perfectionist by Juan Ramón Jiménez
SS Winnipeg was Neruda’s Winged Fugitive Ark for war refugees. Where are such grand gestures today? Stateless and dispossessed persons in the world today amount to a towering 65 million. If we are to trust the "census" of such an unstable and stateless population, it is the highest number of refugees in recorded history (at … Continue reading Valparaíso-Bound: Neruda’s Ark
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative 