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A subtle spiderweb pattern on a greenish-gray background
Sidewall - sample. Gift of Dorwin L. Starr. Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. Public domain.

Story—Late Summer or Early Fall

Struck by the tender intricacy of a spiderweb, Korean poet and playwright Yoo Heekyung contemplates presence and absence, memory and material, in this first selection in the 2024 Words Without Borders—Academy of American Poets National Translation Month series.
Picture of a chimpanzee in a zoo enclosure.
Picture by © Vyacheslav Argenberg / http://www.vascoplanet.com/, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Muzaffer and Bananas
By Yalçın Tosun
Yalçin Tosun's chubby, despairing Turkish teenagers find solace in visits to the zoo. But an unexpected change to their routine abruptly alters their lives and their relationship.
Translated from Turkish by Abby Comstock-Gay
Sharpened pencils sit in a row.
Flickr
Kiêu
By Khuê Phạm
A German Vietnamese woman struggling with her identity receives a call from a long-lost relative in this excerpt from Khuê Phạm's novel Brothers and Ghosts, out now from Scribe Publications.
Translated by Daryl Lindsey & Charles Hawley
Read the World
Travel through Literature
Tony Webster from Portland, Oregon, United States, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Latest

The text Words Without Borders is pleased to announce Marianna Suleymanova as the winner of the...
Marianna Suleymanova Awarded 2024 Momentum Grant for Early-Career Translators
Marianna Suleymanova is recognized for her translation of a powerful short story collection on the state of Russian society.
The covers of the six books featured in the Watchlist in a 2x3 grid: Where We Stand, Mammoth, Mina's...
The Watchlist: August 2024
By Tobias Carroll
In this special #WITMonth edition of the Watchlist, Tobias Carroll recommends poetry from Tunisia, unsettling fiction from Japan, feminist nonfiction from Brazil, and much more.

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Palestine
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Palestine
Nobel Prize Winners
Fiction
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Drama
Graphic Literature
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learning with global literature

WWB Campus connects students and educators to eye-opening global literature
A rebozo photographed in black and white.

By Mónica Morales. License: CC by 2.0 Access at: https://flic.kr/p/rP5TJ

Purépecha Mother
By Gilberto Jerónimo Mateo
This poem from an indigenous Purépecha author celebrates the heroism of a seemingly ordinary woman.
Translated from Purépecha by Earl Shorris & Sylvia Sasson Shorris
Learn
A white chick.
Photo by Osman Kahraman on Unsplash .
It’s a Chick, Not a Dog
By Jar al-Nabi al-Hilw
My mother knew he was walking after her. Almost certainly she knew. Do you want me to tell you why?
Translated from Arabic by Marilyn Booth
Learn
L Blog Post Dominican Self Portrait Graffiti Featured Image
A Dominican “Self-Portrait” to Inspire Students’ Self-Reflections
By Nadia Kalman
Which experiences have a greater influence on us—our successes, or the times when we've been hurt?
Find global literature and multimedia learning resources for your students.
Search Learning Resources

Visit wwb-campus.org to access our full collection of classroom-ready global literature, multimedia resources, and teaching ideas

Featured Collections

Backstories: Afro-Italian Women Writers
Image: Nazanin Rastan, "Maggio." Courtesy of the artist.
Afro-Italian Women in Translation: An Introduction
By Candice Whitney, Barbara Ofosu-Somuah, Aaron Robertson & Hope Campbell Gustafson
What is national literature and how is it defined? Often, when one thinks of a particular nation or language, they imagine a specific phenotype tied to a historical narrative. A cursory Google search…
My Home Is Where I Am
By Igiaba Scego
Translated from Italian by Aaron Robertson
Soumaila Sacko: Story of the Good Life
By Djarah Kan
Translated from Italian by Candice Whitney
Browse the Collection
Against Silence: A Palestinian Writing Series
Photo by Emad El Byed on Unsplash
Against Silence: Palestinian Writing in English
By Lena Khalaf Tuffaha
For as long as Palestinians have resisted their occupiers, a companion narrative questioning our very existence, a profoundly dehumanizing narrative rooted in the West’s still unexamined anti-Arab racism, has also thrived, writes Lena Khalaf Tuffaha.
Between Sky & Earth
By Olivia Elias
Translated from French by Jérémy Victor Robert
Multilingual
Remembering Dr. Refaat Alareer
By Nadya Siyam
Browse the Collection
Turning Points: Women Writers from Taiwan
Image: Eleen Lin, “Oracle”, 2015, 105 x 84 in., Watercolor, gouache, acrylic, ink, lead, pastel, and charcoal on paper. © Eleen Lin. Courtesy of the artist.
Literary Heroes: Women Writers from Taiwan
By Jeremy Tiang
Taiwanese women have proved adept at carving out spaces for themselves.
From “The March of Time”
By Su Wei-chen
Translated from Chinese by Jeremy Tiang
Multilingual
From “Notes of a Crocodile”
By Qiu Miaojin
Translated from Chinese by Bonnie Huie
Browse the Collection
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Featured Contributors

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Portrait of translator Alta L. Price
Alta Price

Alta L. Price translates from Italian and German into English.

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Headshot of Swedish poet Judith Kiros
Judith Kiros

Judith Kiros debuted in 2019 with the acclaimed poetry book O.

MORE
Portrait of translator Emna Zghal
Emna Zghal

Emna Zghal is a visual artist with a strong interest in poetry.

MORE
A portrait of Sawako Nakayasu
Sawako Nakayasu

Sawako Nakayasu is an artist and the author of Pink Waves.

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Portrait of writer J. D. Kurtness
J. D. Kurtness

Innu author J. D. Kurtness has published three novels.

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Portrait of translator Alta L. Price
Alta Price

Alta L. Price translates from Italian and German into English.

MORE
Headshot of Swedish poet Judith Kiros
Judith Kiros

Judith Kiros debuted in 2019 with the acclaimed poetry book O.

MORE
Portrait of translator Emna Zghal
Emna Zghal

Emna Zghal is a visual artist with a strong interest in poetry.

MORE
A portrait of Sawako Nakayasu
Sawako Nakayasu

Sawako Nakayasu is an artist and the author of Pink Waves.

MORE
Portrait of writer J. D. Kurtness
J. D. Kurtness

Innu author J. D. Kurtness has published three novels.

MORE

Book Reviews

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The cover of Claudia Piñeiro's Time of the Flies, translated by Frances Riddle
“I Am the Fly”: Reinvention and Revenge in Time of the Flies
By Liz Wood
Cover of the novel Dear Dickhead by Virgine Despentes
“The Party Animal Machine Is Broken”: Virginie Despentes’s Dear Dickhead
By David Vogel
Cover of Magadalena Platzova's Life After Kafka translated by Alex Zucker.
“The Poison of the Letters”: How Magdaléna Platzová Reclaims Lives
By Cory Oldweiler
The cover of Claudia Piñeiro's Time of the Flies, translated by Frances Riddle
“I Am the Fly”: Reinvention and Revenge in Time of the Flies
By Liz Wood
Cover of the novel Dear Dickhead by Virgine Despentes
“The Party Animal Machine Is Broken”: Virginie Despentes’s Dear Dickhead
By David Vogel
Cover of Magadalena Platzova's Life After Kafka translated by Alex Zucker.
“The Poison of the Letters”: How Magdaléna Platzová Reclaims Lives
By Cory Oldweiler