1. “Dawn”
Miguelángel Meza captures a traveler’s surreal journey in “Dawn,” translated from Guaraní by Tracy K. Lewis. You can also read Meza’s poem “Void,” from his 2021 collection Dream Pattering Soles, on WWB here.
2. “The Blue Book of Nebo”
In this excerpt from her novel The Blue Book of Nebo, which she translated from Welsh to English, Manon Steffan Ros follows a boy and his mother as they struggle to survive in a postapocalyptic world. For more about Welsh and the self-translation process, read this conversation between Ros and Welsh writer Casi Dylan.
3. “The Gut Demons”
This haunting folktale from the Melaka Portuguese oral tradition is transcribed and translated by Sara Frederica Santa Maria, who also works to preserve the language by teaching classes in her hometown of Melaka, Malaysia.
4. “Baking the National Cake”
In this humorous short story by Hilda Twongyeirwe, translated from Runyankole-Rukiga by Juliet Kushaba, a beaten-down government bureaucrat dreams of power and prestige.
5. “A Night Sama”
Uyghur poet Tahir Hamut considers Sama, a form of dance traditionally performed at Uyghur festivals, in this short poem translated by Darren Byler and Dilmurat Mutellip. Two other poems by Hamut, “Phone Call” and “The Past,” are also available on WWB in Joshua L. Freeman’s translation.
6. “And They Say”
In this excerpt from her novel of the same name, Susana Sanches Arins looks back on family memories and the legacy of the Spanish Civil War in lyrical prose, translated from Galician by Kathleen March. For more about Sanches Arins’s use of Galician, read her conversation with editor Valentim Fagim.
7. “Children of the Xam”
Khadija Tracey Heeger considers the rich heritage of her community in this poem, translated from Kaaps by Olivia M. Coetzee.
8. “[I needed to wake up at 3:00 in the morning to make it to work]”
In these two short poems translated from Kurdish (Kurmanji) by Shook and Zêdan Xelef, Ciwan Qado details the worries of adult life.
9. “Can’t Go Out”
A girl yearns to travel beyond her small village in this short story by Elizabeth Joy Serrano-Quijano, translated from Cebuano by John Bengan.
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