What you see when you read, the Lioness of Iran, and more

News, Reviews, and Interviews

After years of civil war and conflict, Afghan refugees are beginning to return home and bring with them waves of migrant literature.

The 2014 PEN/Heim Fund Translation winners have been announced, honoring 15 translators and their works.

What do you see when you read? Peter Mendelsund takes readers on a journey through their own imaginations in an excerpt of his new book, What We See when We Read.

Long-time WLT contributor and past Neustadt Prize juror Yahia Lababidi shares a poem for Gaza this week.

The last-known living speaker of the Native American language Wukchumni has written a dictionary to preserve the language through time. (For more on indigenous literature, make sure to read the September 2014 issue of WLT.)

We note the passing of the “Lioness of Iran,” Simin Behbahani.

For Your Calendar

If you’d love the chance to host a traveling Shakespeare exhibition in your local library, we have good news! The deadline to submit your library for the Shakespeare and His First Folio exhibit offered by the American Library Association has been extended until October 24.

Also for your October calendar is the 2014 Poets Forum, a weekend-long series of literary events hosted by the Academy of American Poets in New York City.

And another event for those in or planning to visit NYC soon: the New Museum’s summer exhibit, “Here and Everywhere,” is currently running through the end of September.

Fun Finds and Inspiration

Last week, the world marked the tenth anniversary of the passing of Czesław Miłosz. Here are 10 of his most unforgettable quotes.

Eighteen well-known short-story authors answer why they made the jump from short to long in this BuzzFeed feature.