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Animals

Etching of a bird flying over the countryside with a view of a city in the background
Bird of Paradise by Jacques Callot in the Rosenwald Collection of the National Gallery of Art
Creating Creatures
By Binoy Majumdar
In these poems, written during a stay in a psychiatric hospital, Bengali poet Binoy Majumdar gives instructions for creating new birds, fruit, and trees.
Translated from Bengali by Arunava Sinha
A zoo sign with three green elephants and a giant yellow arrow pointing the way
"Oliwa Zoo Giant Road Sign March 2010” by Artur Andrzej. Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.
The Pavilion for Small Mammals
By Patryk Pufelski
I find myself moved by these evenings at the zoo.
Translated from Polish by Dawid Mobolaji
Stray dogs
Photo by Heshan Weeramanthri on Unsplash
Parliament of Dogs
By Nasera Sharma
Seeing their community divided into two camps, some dogs developed a strange arrogance.
Translated from Hindi by Akshaj Awasthi
Multimedia
A wolf sleeping in the snow
Christian Pietzsch, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Wolfskin
By Risten Sokki
“When the forested valleys in Russia start filling up with snow, the wolf begins its journey from the south toward the plains in the north.”
Translated from North Sámi by Olivia Lasky
An International Menagerie: Animal Stories
By Susan Harris
Some of the animals here possess the power of speech, deploying it to often subversive ends.
Nuestra Ciudad: Writing the City in Spanish
By Ulises Gonzales
Today, a young writer working in Spanish arrives in New York City to find no shortage of role models.
War of the Species
By Michel Nieva
Completely unaware that this was the kind of sacred moment when you pledge your undying allegiance to a team, through thick and thin, I stated my choice.
Translated from Spanish by Rahul Bery
Alberte Merlo’s Horse
By Álvaro Cunqueiro
So began many long months of conversation between Alberte and his horse.
Translated from Galician by Scott Shanahan
Freedom of Flight
By Ann El Safi
She is a woman I have watched for many years, and for as many years she has been unaware of me.
Translated from Arabic by Nariman Youssef
MultimediaMultilingual
In Puget Sound
By Isabel Zapata
before their paths divided, they formed, together, three glints of light and shadow moving on at last
Translated from Spanish by Robin Myers
Elephant
By Yu Jian
O, it is a defeated god, approaching the dusk of time.
Translated from Chinese by Xin Xu
Urdu Feminist Writing: New Approaches
By Asad Alvi, Amna Chaudhry, Mehak Faisal Khan, Anjuli Fatima Raza Kolb, Geeta Patel & Haider Shahbaz
A dispiriting narrowness has defined canons of Urdu feminist writing from previous decades.
Enemy
By Khalida Hussain
It’s an act of virtue to kill her!
Translated from Urdu by Haider Shahbaz
Lamb and ewe
Photo by Denise Jans on Unsplash
Fatoum and Hamoud and Hamed
By Qatari Oral Tradition
The mother sheep would warn her children of the wolf that prowled the town.
Translated from Arabic by Rana Elmaghraby
Al Fisaikra
By Qatari Oral Tradition
Set me free and I'll make you rich.
Translated from Arabic by Kholoud Saleh
The Sunni and His Friend
By Qatari Oral Tradition
Cats. Carry cats!
Translated from Arabic by Tariq Ahmed
Across Mountains and Valleys: Stories of Migration from the Kinnaur and Spiti Valleys
By Arshia Sattar
Despite their specificity, these tales transcend the places that produced them and throb with a universal appeal.
The Girl Who Turned into a Crocodile
By Himalayan Oral Tradition
She struggled and fought back and tried to save herself but could not overcome the great crocodile that had taken hold of her.
Translated from Lahouli by Noor Zaheer
When the Deer Moved Away
By Himalayan Oral Tradition
Deeku refused to understand the close bond between the humans and the deer and their dependence on each other.
Translated from Lahouli by Noor Zaheer
Hyenas
By Eduardo Plaza
It was impossible to talk to a dead man, so I talked to her instead.
Translated from Spanish by Rahul Bery
MultimediaMultilingual
Two reindeer on a rocky ledge with a body of water behind them
Photo by Jørgen Håland on Unsplash
Journey toward the Island
By Laila Stien
Norway’s Laila Stien tracks a group of Sámi herders guiding their reindeer on the seasonal migration to the north, fighting obstacles both natural and man-made.
Translated from Norwegian by Kerri Pierce
Muzaffer and Bananas
By Yalçın Tosun
We were both quite fat, but Ali’s body carried more promise than mine.
Translated from Turkish by Abby Comstock-Gay
A brown dachshund stands on a dirt path in a park
Photo by MATÍAS ALEJANDRO on Unsplash
Seven Ways to Hide Behind a Dog
By Yordanka Beleva
The first question is “Why did you get a dog?”
Translated from Bulgarian by Ivan Kolarov
The Stork and the She-Stork
By Anonymous
“I was a fool. I will die and you will live. Return to our young now!”
Translated from Sindhi by Musharraf Ali Farooqi
The Great Lord Pabori
By Anonymous
“I am the Great Lord Pabori, who eats the roast of seven lions!”
Translated from Sindhi by Musharraf Ali Farooqi
Davin Chan Moves Out
By Xi Xi
No matter how many times he put the kitten back down on the floor, it leaped right back up, even though the bed was many times its height.
Translated from Chinese by Steve Bradbury
An illustration of a girl in a red and white tutu standing on the back of a white horse in front...
Popular Graphic Arts, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Tante Rosa, Would-be Horse Acrobat
By Sevgi Soysal
Rosa would no longer be falling off of horses. Instead, she would bag the manure of the circus animals and sell it to villagers.
Translated from Turkish by Amy Spangler
End of the Line
By Sergi Pàmies
Much in the same way that for thirty years he's been incapable of breaking the rules, today he just doesn't see himself having the heart to comply with them.
Translated from Catalan by Lisa M. Dillman