Nothing—not even the chance to live—makes Dr. Korczak abandon the children of the Warsaw Ghetto. November 1940. A circus parade walks through the streets of Warsaw, waving a flag and singing. They are 160 Jewish children, forced by the Nazis to leave their beloved orphanage. It’s a sad occasion, but led by Doctor Korczak, their … Continue reading USBBY Outstanding International Book Pick: Mister Doctor by
Sephardic Jews and the Spanish Language offers an incomparable lens into the transnational exchanges between Spanish politician, Ángel Pulido, and a handful of prominent Spanish Jews across Eastern Europe and Turkey. Pulido's acquaintances, whom he met during his travels in the Balkans, were the descendants of the exiled Spanish Jews of the infamous 1493 Inquisition. … Continue reading Review: Sephardic Jews and the Spanish Language by Ángel Pulido
In mid-2002, a group of language professionals living in Japan began to discuss the need for a new kind of publisher—one that could serve readers in English and Japanese, with titles meant for both general and specialist markets. Reflecting the skills and interests of its founding directors, Kurodahan Press first offered books relating to Japan, … Continue reading Publisher Spotlight: Kurodahan Press
A SPANIARD TRAVELING almost anywhere in Europe, especially in the East or the South, typically will have this pleasant surprise: On his train or his ship, or at shops in countries and cities with native languages radically different from his own, he will notice strangers eavesdropping on his Spanish with astonishing frequency. They will listen … Continue reading Excerpt: Sephardic Jews and the Spanish Language by Ángel Pulido
Slavenka Drakulić continues her look at life after communism in the book Cafe Europa her sequel to How We Survived Communism and Even Laughed. It's a great read and an honest read from the 1990s that rings true close to twenty years after she wrote it. If you think regular consumers in the West sometimes … Continue reading Review: Cafe Europa by Slavenka Drakulić
Imagine living in a country where your political system did not consider your needs as a woman and mother important enough to provide for. It's easy enough in the West to bemoan the superficiality of a consumer culture, but how long could you last, ladies, in a country that had no consumer culture at all? … Continue reading Review: How We Survived Communism and Even Laughed by Slavenka Drakulić
Overcast and wet, the day dragged on forever. We huddled together in our “ladies’ room,” where Averchenko had joined us. As if by unspoken agreement, nobody said anything about our present concerns. We reminisced about our last days in Moscow and about the people with whom we had spent those last days. Not a word about … Continue reading Book Excerpt: Memories by Teffi
Glagoslav Publications is an independent British-Dutch press specializing in the publication and worldwide distribution of English translations of fiction and non-fiction titles by Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Polish, Serbian, Turkmen, Armenian and Azerbaijan authors. Expertise in Slavic and European languages and literatures, extensive experience in international publishing, and a deep appreciation of the histories and cultures … Continue reading Publisher Spotlight: Glagoslav Publishing
One of the most exciting and avant garde publishers in the international literature in translation space is Restless Books. Whether your adult readers enjoy South American science fiction or Icelandic meditative fiction or Austrian author memoirs, there is a little something for everyone in Restless's catalog. From the Restless website: Restless Books is an independent … Continue reading Publisher Spotlight: Restless Books
by Karen Van Drie This is a very compelling wartime diary of what a women experienced living in Berlin at the end of World War II. The keeper of this diary, which she originally published anonymously, describes the daily struggle to stay alive as her national leaders, nation-state, and city fell to an invading Soviet … Continue reading A Woman in Berlin: Eight Weeks in a Conquered City by Anonymous
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative 