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
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
An interview about poetry, memory, and revolution with Argentinian independent publisher, returned exile and political activist Miguel Martínez Naón. (Arturo Desimone’s series on Latin American Poetry for Anomaly and formerly The Drunken Boat. Republished with permission from Anomaly.) Miguel Martínez Naón is an Argentinian editor who forms part of the independent publisher Lamás Médula, … Continue reading Notes on a Return to the Ever-Dying Lands: The Return of Naón
Bruce Rutledge and Yuko Enomoto founded Chin Music Press in 2002 while living in Tokyo. At the time, media conglomerates were swallowing up publishing companies, greatly reducing the opportunities for risky books to get into print. The time was ripe for small presses to fill the gap, especially with contemporary and edgy literature from Japan. … Continue reading Publisher Spotlight: Chin Music Press
At Night I Weep With Longing At night I weep with longing For all that I’ve no eyes to weep with – Think – but have no brain to think – About the city lights, the time we laughed. If only you knew, if only you knew My wife, my soul’s passion, How I will … Continue reading Excerpt: Lives of the Dead by Hanoch Levin
I believe that this poem may be read without notes, but nonetheless I’ve provided a brief historical one below. “Postcard from the Hebron Area” was written at the end of the 20th century in Hebrew by Israeli poet Tuvia Ruebner, who was born in Slovakia in 1924, and escaped to Mandatory Palestine in 1941, managing … Continue reading Excerpt: Late Beauty by Tuvia Ruebner
On poems by the disappeared Argentinean child Franca Jarach, and her mother’s recent statements to the German Chancellor. A video on YouTube went viral in Argentina a few weeks ago. It shows one of the May Plaza Mothers, Vera Jarach, coming to meet the visiting German chancellor in Memory Park (Parque de la Memoria). Merkel seems … Continue reading Notes on a Return to the Ever-Dying Lands: Those Without Tombs in Memory Park
A SMALL ERROR IN THE MACHINE When the Nazis came they were quite polite. The father was a known figure, at least to them, the Italian mother was no problem, they only wished to verify a few minor details. That's all, according to protocol. They entered the flat, didn't even presume to sit down. However, … Continue reading Excerpt: Poets on the Edge: An Anthology of Contemporary Hebrew Poetry
https://www.ted.com/talks/ann_morgan_my_year_reading_a_book_from_every_country_in_the_world By Karen Van Drie, Editor of Turkish Literature Month for Global Literature in Libraries Like a lot of people who love to read, I was captivated by Ann Morgan's reading innovation of reading a book from every country in the world. What a cool idea! Short of visiting every nation in the world, how … Continue reading A Month of Turkish Literature via Global Literature in Libraries Initiative
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative 