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Cover of Mothers' Instinct by Barbara Abel, translated by Susan Pickford

The Stories We Tell Ourselves about Motherhood: On "Mothers’ Instinct" by Barbara Abel

"From the very beginning, we understand that the promise of perfection cannot be fulfilled. That once a child emerges from the womb, parents inevitably lose some of their ability to protect them," writes critic Jenessa Abrams.
Pedestrians walk over a bridge in Leningrad in 1991.
fdecomite, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Book of Conjuring
By Anna Badkhen
Anna Badkhen considers memory, loss, and the parallels between one of her own childhood friendships and Yiyun Li's The Book of Goose.
Multimedia
The covers of the six titles featured in the Watchlist: Beijing Sprawl, Happy Stories, Mostly,...
The Watchlist: June 2023
By Tobias Carroll
Tobias Carroll recommends new and forthcoming books in translation from Bolivia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Norway, and Poalnd.
Read the World
Travel through Literature

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Daniel Hahn stands at a podium reading his Ottaway Award acceptance speech
Daniel Hahn accepts the 2023 Ottaway Award for the Promotion of International Literature at an in-person ceremony in New York
“A Citizen in This Community”: Daniel Hahn’s Ottaway Award Acceptance Speech
By Daniel Hahn
On June 13th, Daniel Hahn accepted the 2023 Ottaway Award for the Promotion of International Literature at a ceremony in New York.
Multimedia
Portrait of Wallis Wilde-Menozzi
The City and the Writer: Wallis Wilde-Menozzi in Parma
By Nathalie Handal
Wallis Wilde-Menozzi talks with Nathalie Handal about elegance, secrets, and facades in Parma.

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Fiction
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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 Spanish 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.
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REGISTER TO ACCESS hundreds of teaching ideas, discussion questions, and assignment prompts.
DISCOVER MORE about the WWB Learn program.

Featured Collections

The Queer Issue XII
Yun-Fan: Singing the Variety of Queer Life
By Wanning Chen
When I was twenty-three, I met my first girlfriend, who then went off with a man after just four months—and eventually married him.
Translated from Chinese by Jeremy Tiang
A Night in Timimoun
By Nina Bouraoui
Translated from French by Aneesa Abbas Higgins
In the Shadows
By Olivia M. Coetzee
Translated from Kaaps by the author
Browse the Collection
Pride: Queer Fiction from the WWB Archive
© Norbu Gyuchung
We Only Live Twice
By Adel Tincelin
The transworld was so beautiful, so vast! There was so much to explore!
Translated from French by Evan McGorray
Multimedia
Polar Fire
By Moa Backe Åstot
Translated from Swedish by B. J. Woodstein
Maternal Pride
By Matteo B. Bianchi
Translated from Italian by Liesl Schillinger
Browse the Collection
"I Will Regard These Two People with Amazement": Dutch Poets on Their Immigrant Parents
Photo by Liam McGarry on Unsplash
Black and White: Three Poems
By Nisrine Mbarki
In these three poems, Nisrine Mbarki contemplates her parents' life as immigrants in the Netherlands and their tumultuous relationship.
Translated from Dutch by Michele Hutchison
Multilingual
Ancestors: Two Poems
By Alfred Schaffer
Translated from Dutch by Michele Hutchison
MultimediaMultilingual
Because of a Woman: Two Poems
By Babeth Fonchie Fotchind
Translated from Dutch by Michele Hutchison
Browse the Collection
Recent
Photo by Harshit Sharma on Unsplash
A Second of Stillness
By Jintu Gitarth
Two college dropouts exploring their relationship are exposed by a vengeful visitor in Jintu Gitarth's short story.
Translated from Assamese by Harsita Hiya
Multilingual
The Multitudinous Daniel Hahn: A Laudation
By Esther Allen
Reflecting on One Hundred Days of Woman Life Freedom
By Razieh Mehdizadeh
Translated from Persian by Poupeh Missaghi
Browse the Collection
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Featured Contributors

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Portrait of Harsita Hiya
Harsita Hiya

Harsita Hiya is a writer and translator from Nagaon, Assam.

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Portrait of writer Alhierd Bacharevič
Alhierd Bacharevič

Alhierd Bacharevič is a Belarusian writer who lives in Austria.

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Portrait of writer Irene Solà
Irene Solà

Irene Solà is an award-winning Catalan writer and artist.

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Portrait of author Jaime Huenún
Jaime Huenún Villa

Jaime Luis Huenún Villa is a renowned Mapuche-Huilliche poet.

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Portrait of Nicholas Rinehart
Nicholas Rinehart

Nicholas T. Rinehart is a scholar, critic, and translator based in NYC.

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Portrait of Harsita Hiya
Harsita Hiya

Harsita Hiya is a writer and translator from Nagaon, Assam.

MORE
Portrait of writer Alhierd Bacharevič
Alhierd Bacharevič

Alhierd Bacharevič is a Belarusian writer who lives in Austria.

MORE
Portrait of writer Irene Solà
Irene Solà

Irene Solà is an award-winning Catalan writer and artist.

MORE
Portrait of author Jaime Huenún
Jaime Huenún Villa

Jaime Luis Huenún Villa is a renowned Mapuche-Huilliche poet.

MORE
Portrait of Nicholas Rinehart
Nicholas Rinehart

Nicholas T. Rinehart is a scholar, critic, and translator based in NYC.

MORE

Book Reviews

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Cover of Mothers' Instinct by Barbara Abel, translated by Susan Pickford
The Stories We Tell Ourselves about Motherhood: On “Mothers’ Instinct” by Barbara Abel
By Jenessa Abrams
Cover of Return to Latvia by Marina Jarre, translated by Anne Goldstein
“To Tell Is to Betray”: Marina Jarre’s “Return to Latvia”
By Hannah Weber
Cover of I Went to See My Father by Kyung-Sook Shin, translated by Anton Hur
Understanding Humanity through Books: Kyung-Sook Shin’s “I Went to See My Father”
By David Vogel
Cover of Mothers' Instinct by Barbara Abel, translated by Susan Pickford
The Stories We Tell Ourselves about Motherhood: On “Mothers’ Instinct” by Barbara Abel
By Jenessa Abrams
Cover of Return to Latvia by Marina Jarre, translated by Anne Goldstein
“To Tell Is to Betray”: Marina Jarre’s “Return to Latvia”
By Hannah Weber
Cover of I Went to See My Father by Kyung-Sook Shin, translated by Anton Hur
Understanding Humanity through Books: Kyung-Sook Shin’s “I Went to See My Father”
By David Vogel