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Interviews

July-2023-A-Persisting-Inheritance-Out-of-Sri-Lanka-Interview-Feature
From left to right: Shash Trevett, Seni Seneviratne (photo credit: Sam Hardwick at Ledbury Poetry), and Vidyan Ravinthiran
A Persisting Inheritance: On the First-Ever Anthology of Sri Lankan and Diasporic Poetry in the UK
By Sohini Basak
“An anthology like this challenges literary marketing and literary history.”
2023-07-City-and-Writer-Dana-Grigorcea-Feature.jpeg
Credit: Mardiana Sani
The City and the Writer: In Zürich with Dana Grigorcea
By Nathalie Handal
In Switzerland people tend to be reticent, but reticence is—from both literary and theoretical perspectives—the best starting point for sudden passion.
Translated from German by Alta L. Price
Portrait of author Isabel Fargo Cole
Photo: Dirk Skiba
The City and the Writer: Isabel Fargo Cole in Berlin
By Nathalie Handal
I came here looking for the East Berlin I saw across the Berlin Wall in 1987 as an eighth grader on an exchange program.
Portrait of Wallis Wilde-Menozzi
The City and the Writer: Wallis Wilde-Menozzi in Parma
By Nathalie Handal
On clear days, the Alps and Apennines lift Parma to the heavens.
A black-and-white portrait of Mosab Abu Toha
The City and the Writer: In Gaza with Mosab Abu Toha
By Nathalie Handal
Gaza is the soil where the tree of my consciousness and enlightenment has grown.
Portrait of author Karim Kattan
Photo: R Topakian
The City and the Writer: In Jericho with Karim Kattan
By Nathalie Handal
In a world of enforced transparency and readability, Jericho provides lush and deep gardens where no one can find you.
A portrait of Senegalese American writer Baba Badji
The City and the Writer: In Ziguinchor, Senegal, with Baba Badji
By Nathalie Handal
One is hopeful from the moment one enters the city of Ziguinchor.
A portrait of Will Forrester
Photo credit: Grace Hutchison
Fostering Bibliodiversity: English PEN’s Will Forrester on the Goals of the PEN Presents Program
By Samantha Schnee
It’s in everyone’s interest to fund the often-unpaid labor of sample translation.
A portrait of writer Edvige Giunta
Photo © Joshua Fausty
The City and the Writer: In Gela, Sicily, with Edvige Giunta
By Nathalie Handal
Gela, my odd Gela, a provincial soul in an overgrown urban body, a clash of ancient and modern.
A portrait of writer Giusy Sciacca.
Photo credit: Marcello Bianca.
The City and the Writer: In Siracusa with Giusy Sciacca
By Nathalie Handal
Literature and, inevitably, theater, have belonged to Siracusa since its Greek colonization.
Portrait of translator and editorial fellow Isabella Corletto
Introducing WWB’s Editorial Fellow, Isabella Corletto
By Words Without Borders
Everyone around me spoke both languages and we could move back and forth between them almost unconsciously, which is why I often say that my real first language is Spanglish.
Portrait of writer Roberto Alajmo in front of a stone wall
The City and the Writer: In Palermo with Roberto Alajmo
By Nathalie Handal
Palermo moves a lot but hardly budges.
Translated from Italian by the author
Multimedia
Portrait of Dr. Sachin Ketkar
Into English: Sachin Ketkar on Bilingual Translation
By Jenny Bhatt
Translation is an extension of my preoccupations as a creative writer.
Multimedia
Black and white portrait of writer Maria Borio
The City and the Writer: In Assisi with Maria Borio
By Nathalie Handal
In this corner of Europe, so many places have a humanist significance that’s truly contemporary, made of beauty and nature, in harmony with global change.
Translated from Italian by Danielle Pieratti
Portrait of writer Cristina Bendek in front of green plants
Photo: Karen Bendek
The City and the Writer: In San Andrés with Cristina Bendek
By Nathalie Handal
Violence—slow, fast, indirect, direct—is exercised against the islands and our way of living here.
Portrait of Dr. Tridip Suhrud
On Gandhi, Translation, and the Gujarati Intellectual Tradition
By Jenny Bhatt
Gandhi was a very close reader of languages and literatures.
Portrait of author Claudia Durastanti
Photo: Civitella Ranieri Foundation
The City and the Writer: In Rome with Claudia Durastanti
By Nathalie Handal
It must be an effect of the light, but Rome can be a maze . . .
Portrait of writer Paul Hetherington reading from a book in front of a microphone
Photo: FUKAHORI Mizuho
The City and the Writer: In Canberra with Paul Hetherington
By Nathalie Handal
The city is ghosted by otherness, living in the shadow of the many world cities that preceded its planning and influenced its conception and development.
Portrait of Lídia Jorge next to the cover of O Vento Assobiando nas Gruas
Literature, a Triumphant Art: A Conversation with Lídia Jorge
By Margara Russotto & Patrícia Martinho Ferreira
As a writer I feel like I am a creator of marginal lives, or, more appropriately, a kind of witness of time passing.
Translated from Portuguese by Tanya Pérez-Brennan
Jenny Bhatt (left) and Rita Kothari (right)
On the Evolution and Craft of Gujarati Literature in Translation
By Jenny Bhatt
We do not see translations of books that will unsettle the reading community, and provoke them to be different than who they want to be.
Left, the Romanian cover of Mircea Cartarescu's Solenoid; center, translator Sean Cotter; right,...
Romanian Translation’s Johnny Appleseed: An Interview with Sean Cotter
By Clara Burghelea
We shall see if the hype in the United States reaches the levels Cărtărescu garners in Colombia, where he needed a police cordon to get through his crowd of fans.
Portrait of writer Deniz Dağdelen Düzgün
The City and the Writer: In Izmir with Deniz Dağdelen Düzgün
By Nathalie Handal
The thing that surprises me the most is that parchment paper was invented in Izmir.
A portrait of Ko Ko Thett in red suspenders standing in front of a field of yellow flowers
Picking Off New Shoots Will Not Stop the Spring: An Interview with ko ko thett
By Eric M. B. Becker
Even under a most repressive censorship regime or even in a most watched jail cell, writers and artists will find channels to express themselves.
Portrait of writer Cassandra Atherton
The City and the Writer: In Melbourne with Cassandra Atherton
By Nathalie Handal
There is a restlessness in the city that I have grown to love—it’s like a swaying cat’s tail.
Multimedia
A black and white portrait of writer and editor Khairani Barokka holding a pen
Photo: Derrick Kakembo
“Curiosity and Excitement”: An Interview with Khairani Barokka
By Samantha Schnee
It’s about showing how poetry in translation is intertwined with innumerable parts of society, and can create resonances and collaborations that are precious, that last, that matter.
Photo of author Bianca Bellová
“The Aral Sea was Calling for Attention”: An Interview with Bianca Bellová
By Sal Robinson
As a writer, the only fidelity you swear is to the text: the text is king and you have to be careful not to frighten it away with your preconceptions and expectations.
Monique Ilboudo, left, and Yarri Kamara, right
“I Want Others to Be Able to Read This”
By Monique Ilboudo & Yarri Kamara
Once a book is published, the story no longer belongs to me.
Translated from French by Yarri Kamara
Portrait of writer Fiona Kelly McGregor with a black cat
Photo copyright © Jamie James
The City and the Writer: In Sydney with Fiona Kelly McGregor
By Nathalie Handal
No matter where you are in the city, the time of year or weather, the sky at dusk will stop you in your tracks.
Portraits of Jason Grunebaum and Pia Sawhney
A New Translation Prize: The Armory Square Prize for South Asian Literature in Translation
We want to showcase the best translations from South Asia, and help make visible authors, translators, and literature that are still largely invisible outside of South Asia.
Portrait of writer Felipe Restrepo Pombo
Photo copyright © R. Trejo
The Paradox of Unrestrained Power
By Ezra E. Fitz
It’s always struck me how many rich people in our countries end up hiring their own private armies: a very Colombian phenomenon.
Left, author Shariar Mandanipour; right, translator Sara Khalili
Left, Shariar Mandanipour, photo © Danial Mondanipour; right, Sara Khalili, photo © Miriam Berkley
The National Book Award Interviews: Shahriar Mandanipour and Sara Khalili
By the Editors
“There have been times when we have spent hours discussing a single phrase and how to give it the same life and soul in English.”
Left: Mohammed Hasan Alwan; Right: William M. Hutchins
The National Book Award Interviews: Mohammed Hasan Alwan & William M. Hutchins
By the Editors
I thought he was in search for something meaningful and, thus, he was exposing himself to conditions he hoped would light the way for a coming revelation.
Portraits of Jon Fosse and Damion Searls
Left: Jon Fosse, photo by Tom Kolstad Samlaget; Right: Damion Searls, photo by Beowulf Sheehan
The National Book Award Interviews: Jon Fosse & Damion Searls
By the Editors
“To me writing is an act of listening. And if I am writing well then what I write will necessarily be new to me as well. Writing is a journey into the unknown.”
Portraits of Yoko Tawada and Margaret Mitsutani
The National Book Award Interviews: Yoko Tawada & Margaret Mitsutani
By the Editors
We’re living in a world where both languages and people are constantly in flux. In this novel, I wanted to focus on a small group of people making their way through that world.
Portraits of Olga Ravn and Martin Aitken
Left: Olga Ravn, photo credit: Lærke Posselt; Right: Martin Aitken
The National Book Award Interviews: Olga Ravn & Martin Aitken
By the Editors
I think my task was less linguistic than it was a matter of representing the environment in my mind and sensing its moods emotionally, entering that strange atmosphere so it could seep through into the translation.
Portraits of Saša Stanišić and Damion Searls
Left: Saša Stanišić, photo by Katja Sämann; Right: Damion Searls, photo by Beowulf Sheehan
The National Book Award Interviews: Saša Stanišić & Damion Searls
By the Editors
I started working on [the book] in 2016 when my grandmother was showing the first serious signs of dementia. I wanted to create an archive of sorts, in which her life was told in stories.
Portraits of Mónica Ojeda and Sarah Booker
The National Book Award Interviews: Mónica Ojeda & Sarah Booker
By the Editors
I always say to myself that Jawbone came to me as a nightmare, a vision full of fear and desire, but I really can’t remember how it started.
Portraits of Samanta Schweblin and Megan McDowell
Left: Samanta Schweblin, photo by Alejandra Lopez; Right: Megan McDowell, photo by Camila Valdés
The National Book Award Interviews: Samanta Schweblin & Megan McDowell
By the Editors
I’m always a little amazed at the subtlety of Samanta’s language, how much she can convey in so few words—that hasn’t changed over all the books of hers I’ve translated.
At left face of French language translator Mark Polizzotti and at right face of French Rwandan...
The National Book Award Interviews: Scholastique Mukasonga & Mark Polizzotti
By the Editors
“One thing that makes 'Kibogo' such a compelling work is the critical distance it maintains from all the power structures it describes.”
Portrait of writer Moira Egan
Photo copyright © Eric Toccaceli
The City and the Writer: In Rome with Moira Egan
By Nathalie Handal
The way the sunset sometimes Tiepolos the clouds.
The cover of Mithu Sanyal's Identitti alongside a portrait of translator Alta L. Price
Photo credit: Donnelly Marks
Translating Identity Politics
By Jaeyeon Yoo
When I first read Identitti, I thought, “Is the author using this in earnest or is this meant to be funny?”
Portraits of Bibiana Mas and Aina Marti
Bibiana Mas (left); Aina Marti
An Interview with Two New Publishers of Women in Translation
By the Editors
I thought I could create a space for sharing women’s global experiences through literary fiction. 
Mara Faye Lethem alongside the Catalan and English covers of Learning to Talk to Plants
Birthing a Translation: The Author as Midwife
By Samantha Schnee
I’ve always felt that my commitment is to the text, not the author, but it is wonderful to be able to ask for and receive permission.
Portrait of writer and translator André Naffis-Sahely
Photo copyright © Nina Subin
The City and the Writer: In Los Angeles with André Naffis-Sahely
By Nathalie Handal
It’s sun-kissed, industrial, god-fearing, gas-guzzling, all of it built on a harrowing history of lynch mobs and expropriation.
New Yorker critic Merve Emre and WWB Books Editor Adam Dalva
The Act of Persuasion: A Conversation with Merve Emre
By Merve Emre & Adam Dalva
New Yorker critic Merve Emre and WWB Books Editor Adam Dalva talk about the 2022 International Booker Prize, recognition for translators, and her journey as a critic.
Multimedia
Portrait of Arinze Ifeakandu and Book Cover
Photo copyright © Bec Stupak Diop for Black Rock Senegal
A Complicated Relationship with Home
By Ucheoma Onwutuebe
Homophobia is everywhere. I didn't realize I would grapple with it upon leaving Nigeria.
May-2022-City-and-Writer-Deepak-Unnikrishnan-Featured
Deepak Unnikrishnan. Photo © Philip Cheung.
The City and the Writer: In Abu Dhabi with Deepak Unnikrishnan
By Nathalie Handal
If there is one constant about this place, it is this, that the people on the move (here) all rely on a different set of lies to proceed with their truth(s).
Portrait of writer Marta Orriols
Photo copyright © Ariana Arnes
Writing the Universal
By Samantha Schnee
I think that people rediscovered reading in that period of calm when everything was standing still, and no one could go out or do anything.
Translated from Spanish by the author
A portrait of writer Miguel Syjuco
The City and the Writer: In Manila with Miguel Syjuco
By Nathalie Handal
Architectural gems crumble on street corners, shrouded in grit till they’re decreed too ugly to save.
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From left to right: Salwa Shakhshir, Miranda Beshara, and Mohamed Nabulsi.
The Present and Future of Arabic Kid Lit: A Conversation
By M. Lynx Qualey
There are many great Arabic children’s books that haven’t reached their young readers yet.
Portrait of writer and translator Nisha Susan
“Women with Highly Irregular Minds”
By Suhasini Patni
In all these years that I’ve spent writing in English, I’ve always felt that my leaning toward literariness was informed by Malayalam.
Transcending the Human Viewpoint
By Madeleine Feeny
I allowed myself to be very playful and unafraid, and to try everything.
March-2022-Triangle-Square-Interview-Ruth-Weiner-Featured
Ruth Weiner, publisher of Triangle Square Books for Young Readers. Photo © Eva Sotomayor.
Children’s Literature in Translation: Triangle Square Books for Young Readers
By Words Without Borders
Answers aren’t always easy to come by in the real world when you’re a kid.
February-2022-Kristian-Sendon-Cordero-Interview-Kristian-Sendon-Cordero-Featured
Kristian Sendon Cordero. Photo copyright © Boyet Abrenica.
“The Varied Temperaments of Languages”
By Soleil Davíd
Not so many people think of the local languages as literary languages.
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Fiona Sampson. Photo copyright © Ekaterina Voskresenskaya.
The City and the Writer: In London with Fiona Sampson
By Nathalie Handal
London, which seems all sprawl and braggadocio, is at the same time self-contained and fiercely defended.
Left, the book cover of Velorio. Right, a portrait of author Xavier Navarro Aquino.
Xavier Navarro Aquino. Photo copyright © Jayleen Santiago Díaz.
Breaking Language Open: Xavier Navarro Aquino on Writing Hurricane Maria in His Debut Novel
By Jacqui Cornetta
A multivoiced narrative was essential for the telling of the storm.
“The Joy of Cultural Mixing”: Daljit Nagra on Retelling the Classic Ramayana in Punglish
By Samantha Schnee
Humor was essential for my Ramayana.
Twelve Years Later, Kettly Mars Reflects on the 2010 Earthquake in Haiti and the Novels It Inspired
By Nathan H. Dize
The earthquake opened new sociopolitical avenues to be addressed in literary fiction.
Translated from French by the author
Becoming a “Second-Career” Translator: A Conversation with Aneesa Abbas Higgins
By Samantha Schnee
The experiences gained from a lifetime of reading and pursuing other professions are invaluable assets.
Mike Fu and Jenna Tang on Mentorship, Taiwanese Literature, and Translating Trauma
By Mike Fu & Jenna Tang
In 2021, Mike Fu and Jenna Tang worked together through the Emerging Translator Mentorship Program of the American Literary Translators Association (ALTA), with a focus on prose from Taiwan. Fu had published…