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September 2009

Walking The World

This month, in collaboration with Orion magazine, we embark on "Walking the World," the second installment of our two-month focus on international nature writing. The writers in our September issue record their walks to give us a unique ground-level perspective on our natural and urban surroundings. Whether a remembrance of a haunting episode on the streets of Paris, or an account of a trek through Milan toward a distant peak, these pieces provide a rare glimpse into the realm of the writer on foot, in his element, and speaking about the world that we all navigate. This month we present the work of Siegfried Kracauer, Troub's, Davide Sapienza, Agur Schiff, Antonio Ungar, Alexei Ivanov, and Marjan Strojan. We hope you'll also head over to Orion to read their fantastic selections for this co-publication.

This issue was made possible, in part, through a grant from the National Endowment of the Arts.

Run
By Valeria Parrella
To Tonino, for the bracelet.Every time I cross this street, I always choose the same spot: I walk sort of kitty-corner from the traffic island, or straight as an arrow along the crosswalk, as if the cars…
Translated from Italian by Antony Shugaar
From “The Geographer Drank His Globe Away”
By Alexei Ivanov
“Hey young fellow, it’s your stop . . .”Sluzhkin was being prodded by the old guy on the opposite bench. He unglued his eyes, sprang onto his knees still in his sleeping bag, and shot…
Translated from Russian by Liv Bliss
How Old is the Queen of England?
By Agur Schiff
The old dog lumbers beside me, exhaling and inhaling laboriously and tracking my steps with her bowed head turned white with old age. Owls perch on the branches canopying the path, against the indigo…
Translated from Hebrew by Jessica Cohen
Multilingual
“Survivors,” from “The Ears of the Wolf”
By Antonio Ungar
I wake up. The bus stops, and a village full of horses appears. Mama and her women meditator friends and her women communist friends and my sister are on the bus, along with the peasants. We get off,…
Translated from Spanish by Katherine Silver
Milano Inside a Star
Monte Stella—Mount Star—is an artificial hill right on the northern outskirts of Milano, not far from the Meazza Soccer Stadium, located in the San Siro quarters of town. Mount Star was built…
Translated from Italian