Earlier this summer, the editors of WLT invited more than two dozen writers to nominate one book, published since 1969, that most influenced their extraliterary commi…
Books
August 1, 2019
July 3, 2019Ever since early Islam, Jews have been dubbed the people of the book. The title stuck in European lands too, a deferential nod to the role of the Hebrew Bible in the Western canon, the breadth of Je…
November 7, 2016From epic sagas of the thirteenth century to modern crime fiction, Icelandic literature has something for everyone. Despite the country’s small population, Iceland has a rich literary culture and a th…
June 10, 2016Muhammad Ali signing autographs for Volendam women. Wikimedia CommonsNews, Reviews, and InterviewsNPR’s Juan Vidal writes about Muhammad Ali’s poetic side and his skill for linguist…
April 28, 2016Portrait of Charlotte Brontë. Painted by Evert A. Duyckinick, based on a drawing by George RichmondNews, Reviews, and InterviewsIn this interview with Saikat Majmudar, he discusses his new novel…
March 28, 2016A Conversation with Donald MolosiIn January The Mantle published We Are All Blue, a collection of two plays by the Botswana actor and playwright Donald Molosi, including an introduction b…- January 15, 2016News, Reviews, and InterviewsIn preparation for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the Academy of American Poets has curated this list of poems in honor and celebration.Poet Allison Hedge Coke, recently publ…
January 8, 2016Welcome back to our weekly literary roundups! The year has gotten off to an exciting start with WLT’s 90th anniversary, and lots of interesting things are happening in the literary world. Her…
December 2, 2015As a longtime practitioner of the art of fiction writing and a committed reader of the works of others, I have been thinking a great deal about the impact of the proliferating film/TV industry on the…
November 11, 2015Stephanie Malia HomThe University of Toronto Press released Stephanie Malia Hom’s The Beautiful Country: Tourism and the Impossible State of Destination Italy in February 2015. T…
September 4, 2015News, Reviews, and Interviews The September issue of WLT is here! Get the print or digital issue today.Science-fiction writer Liu Cixin won the 2015 Hugo Award for best novel. Check out…
July 24, 2015News, Reviews, and InterviewsThe Brooklyn Small Press Flea Market will happen on Saturday, August 1, in front of the main branch of the Brooklyn Public Library. Check out all the event details he…
June 8, 2015Ann Morgan. Photo © Steve Lennon.What if New York Review of Books blogger Tim Parks is right that international literature is becoming homogenized? It’s a scary thought. And on the cusp of th…
May 15, 20152013 Puterbaugh Fellow Maaza Mengiste. Photo by Shevaun Williams.…
May 6, 2015Australian artist Peter Gould’s “Iqra Bookshelf” (2011). The word Iqra’ (“Read”) is deeply symbolic to Muslims, as it was the first word of revelation given to the Prophet Muham…
April 7, 2015Antonio Canova (1757–1822), Psyche Revived by Cupid’s Kiss, marble, MR 1777, Musée du Louvre, Paris / © 2010 Musée du Louvre / Raphaël Chipault.Editorial…- January 23, 2015News, Reviews, and InterviewsThis week, author Valeria Luiselli sat down with NPR to talk about why she chooses to have her work translated, despite being bilingual. (Luiselli’s forth…
January 21, 2015Certain cherished books are like old loves. We didn’t part on bad terms; but it’s complicated, and would require too much effor…- December 19, 2014News, Reviews, and InterviewsLibyan poet and translator Khaled Mattawa was recently announced as one of the MacArthur Foundation Genius Grant recipients, and in an interview with NPR,…
November 21, 20142014 Neustadt Prize Laureate Mia CoutoNews, Reviews, and InterviewsLast weekend, PEN International asked the international literary community to stand in solidarity a…
November 14, 2014Photo by Joede SousaNews, Reviews, and InterviewsThis week, the world remembered the fall of the Berlin Wall, which took place 25 years ago on November 9, 1989. This…
October 29, 2014For more on Santa Fe’s Biblioteca Amigos Library, read Figueroa's outpost featuring this bilingual literary hub in the November 2014 issue of World Literature Today.I have read Fahrenheit…- October 17, 2014News, Reviews, and InterviewsJoin us in congratulating Patrick Modiano for winning this year’s Nobel Prize for Literature!Last week, publishing giant HarperCollins announced a new ven…
- June 6, 2014News, Reviews, and InterviewsThe current state and future of Israeli literature (and much of its politics) was showcased at this year’s International Writers Festival, held May 22 in…
May 27, 2014Khachapuri. Photo by Robyn LeeThough the Republic of Georgia has a strong literary past, especially in the medieval era, the Soviet shadow and the country’s singularly difficult…
Recent Posts
WLT’s executive director, editors, and staff all deeply mourn the passing of David L. Boren, who died on February 20, 2025. Nick Hathaway, who…
. . . I sleep early, risebefore daylight, waitwith patient stuporthe coming gray light. . . I move slowly,surreptitiously — ananimal hungry to find…
Mariana Sabino’s debut short-story collection, The Verdigris Stories, transports readers to many different countries. This collection of loosely…
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Since the moment we became readers, we have always thought that to interpret the most profound ideas of a literary work—from the multiple creations…
