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Read the 2024 Gala Literary Hosts

October 2024

Portraits of the 15 writers and translators featured in the collection on a black background: Iman...

Read essays, translations, and poems by some of the literary hosts joining us for the Words Without Borders Gala on October 30, 2024.

A view of rooftops in St. Petersburg, Russia
Photo © Anna Badkhen. Used with the author's permission.
The Country Called Exile
By Anna Badkhen
The news of her arrest changed the metaphysical condition of my geography: I found myself, suddenly, in exile.
The opening text of Wittgenstein's Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus
L. Wittgenstein, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Translating Philosophy: The Case of Wittgenstein’s Tractatus
By Damion Searls
The substance of Wittgenstein’s theories in the Tractatus is intimately tied to a vision of lan­guage that, among other problems, tends to produce bad translations.
An orange door in the sunlight, with the shadow of a leafy plant falling on it
Photo by Artemis Faul on Unsplash
I Have a Musical Name
By Iman Mersal
This poem by Iman Mersal juxtaposes a child’s hopefulness with an adult’s nostalgia.
Translated from Arabic by Khaled Mattawa
Large cuts of meat roast on a grill
Photo by Deby Rodriguez on Unsplash
The Art and Horror of the Argentine Asado
By Mariana Enríquez
The asado and political violence are linked in Argentina.
Translated from Spanish by Megan McDowell
Multilingual
Close-up of a white orchid with a purple and green center.
Photo by Sanx, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
At the Same Time
By Wang Jiaxin
The official briefing said, “The family has no objection to the findings”
Translated from Chinese by Arthur Sze
Multilingual
An empty playground with a merry go round
Photo by Loegunn Lai on Unsplash
My Home Is Where I Am
By Igiaba Scego
Somali-Italian writer Igiaba Scego recalls her childhood experiences in the Italian educational system in this memoir.
Translated from Italian by Aaron Robertson
White foam swirling on a river's surface
Photo by kallern, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
I float on worry
By Rania Mamoun
I live on the lip, split / between slipping & holding
Translated from Arabic by Yasmine Seale
A spoon with stringy bits of meat sits in a stew
Photo by mana5280 on Unsplash
Kari Disan
By Ananda Devi
It hadn’t been a gastronomic experience so much as an obstacle course.
Translated from French by Jeffrey Zuckerman
A large, shallow river with pines on the opposite bank and mountains in the distance
Nameri National Park. Photo by Debuapriyo, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Smell of Bamboo Blossoms
By Yeshe Dorje Thongchi
Bamboo had been an intimate part of his life since his birth, but he had never known bamboo to produce seeds.
Translated from Assamese by Aruni Kashyap
Remembering Ricardo Piglia
By Valeria Luiselli
This article originally appeared in Spanish in El País.In my daughter’s bedroom there is a chest full of toys. It’s a large chest, finished in black leather, with copper corners. We…
Translated by Christina MacSweeney
From “Foucault in Warsaw”
By Remigiusz Ryziński
Why was he the one with the keys to Michel Foucault’s apartment?
Translated from Polish by Sean Gasper Bye
The City and the Writer: In Nablus with Isabella Hammad
By Nathalie Handal
Even in the Nablus of my mind I remain outside, peering in at windows, opening stale cupboards, looking for abandoned objects from the past.
Crossing Boundaries: Ten Moroccan Writers
By Emma Ramadan
These authors are doing important things in post-independence Moroccan writing, a period fueled with a new energy, vitality, and honesty.
Fear of Manners
By Kanako Nishi
Day in and day out, so many personal habits can drive us crazy.
Translated from Japanese by Allison Markin Powell
From “Um País”
By Flávia Rocha
How to explain / the heat a language exhales
Translated from Portuguese by Idra Novey
MultimediaMultilingual