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Family

Collection of pearl necklaces on a black background
Photo by Brian Wangenheim on Unsplash
Shakharbanu’s Curse
By Lira Konys
Jealousy and a broken heart haunt a family heirloom in this story by Kazakh writer Lira Konys.
Translated from Kazakh by Mirgul Kali
Breathtaking image of a temple in Nepal with snowy mountains in the background
Photo by Sebastian Pena Lambarri on Unsplash
Nepal
By Marina Gudelj
In this short story by Croatian writer Marina Gudelj, a busy mother is blindsided by her sister’s decision.
Translated from Croatian by Ena Selimović
MultimediaMultilingual
A woman looks out the windows of a slightly dilapidated white brick building.
Kalpana Raina stands in the window of her uncle's former home. Photo by Tanveer Ajsi.
Reclaiming Memories: Returning to Kashmir
By Kalpana Raina
After translating her uncle’s stories, Kalpana Raina returns to her native Kashmir for the first time in forty-eight years.
Multimedia
A bed of red and yellow busy lizzies
Photo by Michael Elliott Photography
A Mother’s Voice
By Silvia Arazi
Over coffee, my brother pulls up his chair and discreetly asks me if I’m going to write that book about our mother.
Translated from Spanish by Charlotte Coombe
A nitrate negative of Gaza
"Gaza. (Ghuzze). Section near the mosque" by American Colony in LOC.
Afterwords
By Sinan Antoon
After our house in Jabalia was destroyed we hid in the UNRWA school. But the bombs followed us there too . . .
Translated from Arabic by the author
Multimedia
A cluster of green and flowering cacti
Photo by Brandon Hoogenboom on Unsplash
Far Beyond the Sun
By Denise Phé-Funchal
Grandma goes inside the house and a few minutes later comes out with a small ax in her hand.
Translated from Spanish by David Unger
MultimediaMultilingual
Cobwebs outside of a house
Photo by Pierre Bamin on Unsplash
Morning Procession
By Amit Dutta
Everybody knew that reading strange books was Shaam’s only hobby.
Translated from Hindi by Vaibhav Sharma
Family in a tunnel
Photo by Lute on Unsplash
Because of a Woman: Two Poems
By Babeth Fonchie Fotchind
I would praise your bravery when you were twenty-eight / when you boarded an airbus a330 a child in tow
Translated from Dutch by Michele Hutchison
Shadows in a dark room
Photo by Parker Coffman on Unsplash
Ancestors: Two Poems
By Alfred Schaffer
well you’re right we’re stone dead / nothing to worry about
Translated from Dutch by Michele Hutchison
MultimediaMultilingual
Empty train tracks disappearing into the horizon in a dry landscape
Photo by Robert Linder on Unsplash
The Kettledrum
By Siddique Alam
In the forest, between the acacia, mulberry, and stinging nettle bushes, where snakes shed their skin, she searched for Mangru’s footprints.
Translated from Urdu by Musharraf Ali Farooqi
A dark kitchen table and chairs seen through a doorway with a single light above them
Photo by Ehud Neuhaus on Unsplash
Anna and Her Daughter’s Partner
By Laksmi Pamuntjak
“In Indonesia there are only two categories,” you replied. “Pacar atau suami—boyfriend or husband.
Translated from Indonesian by Annie Tucker
MultimediaMultilingual
A flowering wisteria branch
Photo by Owen Yin on Unsplash
Black and White: Three Poems
By Nisrine Mbarki
they speak different languages but will learn each other’s
Translated from Dutch by Michele Hutchison
Multilingual
A man paddles a canoe in a river at sunset
Photo by Inu Etc on Unsplash
Roots
By Madhurima Barua
The stench of country liquor assaults her. Her husband is tottering.
Translated from Assamese by Syeda Shaheen Jeenat Suhailey
MultimediaMultilingual
A wagtail perching on a stick by a body of water
Photo by Nikita Nikitenko on Unsplash
A Wagtail’s Song
By Bikash Dihingia
How was it possible that there was another me buried within? And how could someone else feel his presence even before I could?
Translated from Assamese by Harsita Hiya
Multilingual
Photo of a man walking alongside his bike on a tree-lined path
Photo by Akshat Vats on Unsplash
To Loved Ones
By Jayesh Jeevibahen Solanki
The bazaar reveals this to us: / I sell / Get sold / Someone buys me / and I buy someone else
Translated from Gujarati by Gopika Jadeja
Map of German East Africa
Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
German Medicine
By Abdulrazak Gurnah
Her mother was dead, she knew that, but she did not know why her aunt and her uncle were the ones who took her in.
Palm trees along the shoreline in Huahine, Tahiti
Matthew Dillon from Hollywood, CA, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Two Birthdays
By Titaua Peu
For weeks, Ma didn’t feel a shred of warmth for the baby.
Translated from French by Jeffrey Zuckerman
Like Two Drops of Water
By Sergi Pàmies
Tempo, for instance: one drop every so often, always the exact same so often, like a time trial in a bicycle race.
Translated from Catalan by Lisa M. Dillman
The White Tablecloth
By Irene Solà
Eight years and I’m still not over it.
Translated from Catalan by Mara Faye Lethem
Transcending the Human Viewpoint
By Madeleine Feeny
I allowed myself to be very playful and unafraid, and to try everything.
No One Really Knows Why People Shout
By Mario Michelena
His lips are moist, as though he were stewing on more insults.
Translated from Spanish by Lindsay Griffiths & Adrián Izquierdo
This Language Called Kaaps: An Introduction
By Olivia M. Coetzee
Language is more than just a method of communication. It is about the ability to lay down roots, to settle into an identity, to have a place in history, in the present, and in the future. Language is…
The Wind Blows Where It Wishes and You Hear Its Sound
By Andre Trantraal
It should be patently obvious to anyone but the most resolutely blind that he is not aching with impatience to go to the house of the Lord.
Translated from Kaaps by the author
scratch cards
By Shirmoney Rhode
and that which has no use will be discarded
Translated from Kaaps by Andre Trantraal
Multilingual
Snake’s Hill
By Olivia M. Coetzee
JB was the one to start that fire inside my head.
Translated from Kaaps by the author
MultimediaMultilingual
From I Am Alive
By Kettly Mars
At eighty-six years old, Éliane had to stand up and confront her own private nightmare.
Translated from French by Nathan H. Dize
Treasures
By Mohamed Magani
She tapped the photo and said, “When I am dead, this is the photo of me I want you to keep.”
Translated from French by Edward Gauvin
Dark as a Boy
By Ho Sok Fong
Pretty much everyone knew Saw Ai’s family had problems.
Translated from Chinese by Natascha Bruce
Reckonings: The Queer Issue XII
By Susan Harris
This year we celebrate Pride Month with seven pieces depicting Queer characters confronting decisive moments.
A Night in Timimoun
By Nina Bouraoui
It's your skin I feel sliding beneath my soapy palms.
Translated from French by Aneesa Abbas Higgins
In the Shadows
By Olivia M. Coetzee
The rhythmic flow of Shadow Heights was something she often missed and longed for while she was in Joburg.
Translated from Kaaps by the author
Gustavo
By Javier Stanziola
My departure had nothing to do with you or your brother.
Translated from Spanish by Alexander Aguayo
Solo Dance
By Li Kotomi
From that day on, her memories of Danchen were frozen.
Translated from Chinese by Natascha Bruce
Adabai
By Cheikh Nouh
Their nayffara is a flutelike instrument heavy with history, deeply immersed in sorrow.
Translated from Arabic by Sawad Hussain
The Sea Gives Us Children
By Thórdís Helgadóttir
Karen says she’s seen it when the souls begin their perambulations.
Translated from Icelandic by Larissa Kyzer
MultimediaMultilingual
The Husband and His Brother
By Björn Halldórsson
When Böddi came back to Iceland a month later, he was engaged.
Translated from Icelandic by Larissa Kyzer
MultimediaMultilingual
Writing Against Estrangement in Galicia
By Scott Shanahan
No doubt a few Galicians will think it in very bad taste to inaugurate this issue with a likeness to their higher profile southern neighbors, but because there may be a great many glad for the comparison,…
And They Say
By Susana Sanches Arins
i come from a family built on longing.
Translated from Galician by Kathleen March
Voracious
By Emma Pedreira
Even though I hate her, my mother probably wrote me letters that she never sent.
Translated from Galician by Kathleen March
[My mother works in a cannery]
By Luisa Castro
Love is a work of art in a can.
Translated from Galician by Laura Cesarco Eglin
Multilingual
Munkar and Nakir
By Alisa Ganieva
Driving here, did you know you'd die today?
Translated from Russian by Sabrina Jaszi
New Voices: Afghan Women Writers
By Lucy Hannah
A nation’s upheaval cannot be understood without women's perspectives.
The Decision
By Afghan Author D
At that moment, there was another whistling sound, followed by a huge explosion.
Translated from Pashto by Zarghuna Kargar
Khurshid Khanum, Rise and Shine
By Afghan Author B
She could not have known that the caller at the other end of the phone was about to faint.
Translated from Dari by Parwana Fayyaz
Turn this Air Conditioner On, Sir
By Afghan Author C
It is one of those days when the winter sun is gorgeous, and you don’t want to even think of death.
Translated from Dari by Parwana Fayyaz
Daughter Number Eight
By Freshta Ghani
Is it a boy or a girl?
Translated from Pashto by Zarghuna Kargar
The Final Stretch
By Siu Kam Wen
The old woman refused to wear any clothing she had not sewn herself.
Translated from Spanish by Julie Hempel
Song for My Father
By Filinto Elísio
The music played / on Apollo 11, it turned out, was “Georgia / On My Mind,” sung by Ray Charles.
Translated from Portuguese by Jethro Soutar
Multilingual
Time-Travelers, Fisherwomen, and Sleuths: Arabic Young Adult Literature
By Elisabeth Jaquette
While Arabic publishing has historically focused on literature for adults and young children, recent years have seen an increasing number of titles aimed at a young adult readership.
Mossy rocks at the edge of the coastline in Gaza
Photo by Emad El Byed on Unsplash
Against the Tide
By Taghreed Najjar
Who ever heard of a fisherwoman in Gaza, much less a young girl?
Translated from Arabic by Elisabeth Jaquette
Thunderbird
By Sonia Nimr
“It seems that Noor set fire to another student’s backpack.”
Translated from Arabic by M. Lynx Qualey
Black Saturday
By Djamila Morani
Soothsayers tell the truth even when they’re lying.
Translated from Arabic by Sawad Hussain
Deceptive Simplicity: International Children’s Literature
By Daniel Hahn
I often feel that adults forget what children’s stories are capable of.
Heaven Can Wait
By Angelika Glitz
“Look, this forklift even has an electric motor.”
Translated from German by Melody Shaw
Communism in Style
By Nadia Kamel
What I'm trying to say is that we didn't have a sense of how dangerous it all was.
Translated from Arabic by Brady Ryan & Essayed Taha
Multilingual
Six Proposals for Participation in a Conversation about Bread
By Rasha Abbas
“That’s what we get for supporting Communism: standing in line for this black loaf.”
Translated from Arabic by Alice Guthrie
University Student
By Sahar Khalifeh
I was a woman: young, alone, divorced, left without a guardian or virtue, meaning that in society’s eyes I was an easy target.
Translated from Arabic by Sawad Hussain
Razor Blade Rattle and the Beginnings of Being Tamed
By Ishraga Mustafa
How could they, when these women themselves had been through so much pain?
Translated from Arabic by Sawad Hussain
Multilingual
Beyond Representation: Life Writing by Women in Arabic
By Sawad Hussain & Nariman Youssef
One cannot write about real-life experiences from the place of the “I” without laying claim to a place in the world.
Al Fisaikra
By Qatari Oral Tradition
Set me free and I'll make you rich.
Translated from Arabic by Kholoud Saleh