Thirty Talks Weird Love If you could go back in time and visit your thirteen-year-old self, what would you say to them? Do you think they would listen? That is precisely what happens to thirteen-year-old Anamaria Aragón Sosa in this artful novel-in-verse by Alessandra Narváez Varela; Thirty Talks Weird Love. Set in Cuidad Juárez, Mexico … Continue reading #IntlYALitMonth: Thirty Talks Weird Love
#IntlYALitMonth: Ink Knows No Borders
This curated volume of 64 poems by poets from around the world showcases unique, individual voices from myriad cultures, following different migration pathways, and sharing their stories via different poetic styles. Yet there is more of a coherent narrative here than a reader might first expect from a poetry anthology as opposed to a novel … Continue reading #IntlYALitMonth: Ink Knows No Borders
#WorldKidLit Wednesday: A Story About Afiya
Afiya is a young girl with "fine black skin" and "big brown eyes." Every day the world she sees and experiences leaves a beautiful imprint on her white summer dress: bunches of red roses one day, and butterflies, stalks and petals the next. The images remain—even after washing—until morning when, magically, the dress is again … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: A Story About Afiya
#WorldKidLit Wednesday: Book of Questions
Children ask a lot of questions, sometimes to their parents' chagrin. When parents ask me how to deal with their child's seemingly endless questions, I always suggest that they turn it back around on their child: "what do you think?" This buys a parent a few extra moments to gather their thoughts, while also encouraging … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Book of Questions
Ibonia: The Ramayana of Madagascar
-Abhay K. Ibonia is an epic poem of Madagascar dating back centuries which tells the tale of conception, birth, betrothal, struggle and death of its hero Ibonia (Iboniamasiboniamanoro or "he of the clear and captivating glance"). The tale begins with the conception of Ibonia by his mother with the help of divine intervention. Ibonia starts talking … Continue reading Ibonia: The Ramayana of Madagascar
#MadagascarLitMonth: Contemporary Poetry of Madagascar
-Abhay K. I have been in Madagascar close to three years. During this time I have interacted with a number of young Malagasy poets while hosting the monthly literary programme LaLitTana which I started in April 2019. I present a selection of poems of some of these poets in English translation here. Most of the … Continue reading #MadagascarLitMonth: Contemporary Poetry of Madagascar
#MadagascarLitMonth: The Poetry of Elie Rajaonarison
By Mialy Andriamananjara Elie Rajaonarison was a Malagasy poet, for whom Malagasy literature was above all an oral literature. He was born on November 15, 1951 in Ambatondrazaka, a town in the central highlands of Madagascar known for its rice and tobacco production. He was a “poète engagé” who “served as Secretary General to the … Continue reading #MadagascarLitMonth: The Poetry of Elie Rajaonarison
The Immortal Poetry of Madagascar’s Jean-Joseph Rabearivelo
Jean-Joseph Rabearivelo (JJR) is generally acknowledged as the greatest twentieth-century poet of Madagascar and the first modern poet of Africa. He was born in 1901 in an impoverished but noble family in the capital city, Antananarivo, to an unwed mother. His birth name was Joseph-Casimir Rabearivelo, which he changed later to Jean-Joseph Rabearivelo. He worked … Continue reading The Immortal Poetry of Madagascar’s Jean-Joseph Rabearivelo
Feel The Magic of Madagascar
Book Review La Magie de Madagascar | The Magic of Madagascar by Abhay K. Bilingual edition, Translated into French by Prof. Madhuri Mukherjee and Katia Novet Saint-Lôt, Éditions L’Harmattan, Paris, 2021, Pages. 144 ISBN: 978-2343235929 By Arefa Tehsin Much before Madagascar was made famous by, well, “Madagascar”, my naturalist father had told me about the … Continue reading Feel The Magic of Madagascar
Hainteny: Traditional Poetry of Madagascar
Hainteny is the traditional poetry of Madagascar. Hainteny means ‘knowledge of words’ in Malagasy language. It is part of traditional oral literature of Madagascar, which is mostly in the form of a dialogue between a female and a male, and strongly reminds me of poems of Tamil Sangam literature and Gatha Saptasati of India. Leonard … Continue reading Hainteny: Traditional Poetry of Madagascar
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative 