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Love is International: Three Stories and a Poem

Posted on January 30, 2019

Graffiti art of two cartoon characters kissing. By Brieuc Saffré, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr.

With Valentine's Day approaching, we've assembled four of our favorite short, love-themed literary works:

  • Where Have All the Sundays Gone? a first love remembered, by the "J-pop singer turned writer" Mieko Kawakami;
  • Hello? a short mediation on love, inspired by an overheard cell phone conversation on a Russian city bus. The Playlist tab features music videos of public-transportation-based songs (a surprisingly large sub-genre);
  • Poem to the Tune 'Pure Peace,' a Tang-Dynasty era love poem, originally set to music;
  • The Gringo Champion: a tale of migration and young love, set on the U.S.-Mexico border (includes violence and profanity.)

You'll find multimedia contextual resources and teaching ideas in the tabs beside the literature.

For more love stories, browse or search the site!