By Nuri Al-Khalaf Syrian Literature Month Editor It has been said that Arabs took soil with them while they travelled - to smell it and be reminded of their homelands. Today, Syrians are taking with them their dreams, hopes, pains, memories and literature wherever their feet take them after the disastrous events in their country. … Continue reading Amid the Literature of Syria, the Cradle of Civilization
Polish Speculative Fiction in Translation
If someone mentions Polish speculative fiction in translation (SFT), you might immediately think about the prolific and much-translated Stanislaw Lem, or perhaps the fantasy writer Andrzej Sapkowski, whose Witcher series started off as a single short story and expanded into a wildly-popular series and then a comic, a film, and a video game. And yet, … Continue reading Polish Speculative Fiction in Translation
Ursula Phillips on Zofia Nałkowska
Zofia Nalkowska (10 November 1884 – 17 December 1954) is sometimes referred to as the grande dame of Polish literature. She was an active member of the Polish PEN Club, the only female (and a founding member) of the Polish Academy of Literature (1933-1939) and recipient of major awards including the state prize in 1936 … Continue reading Ursula Phillips on Zofia Nałkowska
When An Author You Translate Gets Death Threats: Polish Writer Olga Tokarczuk Speaks the Truth, Is Attacked For It
Acclaimed Polish writer Olga Tokarczuk has received a steady stream of hate mail and even death threats after questioning her country’s view of itself as “an open, tolerant country.” As one person put it in a post to Tokarczuk’s Facebook page, “The only justice for these lies is death. Traitor.” Many agree that Tokarczuk’s “betrayal” … Continue reading When An Author You Translate Gets Death Threats: Polish Writer Olga Tokarczuk Speaks the Truth, Is Attacked For It
Diverse Voices? Curating a National History of Children’s Books
On Friday 24th November, Newcastle University’s Children’s Literature Unit and Seven Stories: The National Centre for Children’s Books co-hosted Diverse Voices? Curating a National History of Children’s Books. This one-day symposium explored how Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic voices are represented in our national story of children’s literature. In this blog post, which originally … Continue reading Diverse Voices? Curating a National History of Children’s Books
Immigration through the Eyes of a Child
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
Valparaíso-Bound: Neruda’s Ark
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
Don Quixote de La Mancha: Timeless Message of Hope and Chivalry
Don Quixote de La Mancha is the greatest literary work to come from Spain, the first novel, written by the pen of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. It is also one of the most translated books in the world. The novel was published in two volumes, the first book published in 1605 and the second in … Continue reading Don Quixote de La Mancha: Timeless Message of Hope and Chivalry
Reading the Argentinean writer of resistance Rodolfo Walsh in the Trump Era
Rodolfo Walsh’s Open Letter to the Military Junta used to be distributed in Argentina as a pamphlet by the historical memory and human rights organizations in the first decade of this century. Today, after the 2015 election of a historical-revisionist administration in Argentina, the transmission of its message and Walsh’s struggle to the new generations is, again, … Continue reading Reading the Argentinean writer of resistance Rodolfo Walsh in the Trump Era
Hanan Harawi’s Insurrection
Hanan Harawi (which in Quechua means “poetry from above) is an independent publishing house specializing in international poetry based in Lima, Peru. According to its founding editor, the poet John Martínez González, Hanan Harawi seeks to connect audiences to a diverse array of contemporary Latin American poets and writers ‘’without blogs, posts, or web-anthologies. While … Continue reading Hanan Harawi’s Insurrection
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative 