Find literature from our seven country-based collections by searching below, or browsing with the buttons on the right. To search the entire site, which includes literature from other countries, visit the Search the Site page.
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Fiction from Korea
Fathers
The Suit
by Young-ha Kim“My father passed away. Or at least, that’s what I was told.”
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Fiction from Korea
Fathers
Tree of Kisses
by Kim Bi“What’s wrong with this kid?”
It wasn’t a real question.
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Fiction from Korea
Fathers
Ascending Scales
by Ae-ran KimI’m not sure how it occurred to my mother, who ran a dumpling store, to make me learn piano.
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Fiction from Iran
Memories
Green Sour Orange
by Neda KavoosifarI tell him I want a red ribbon. I hear my voice rippling in the air.
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Poetry from Iran
Memories
Elegy
by Ahmad ShamlouAnd so we repeat the round
of night and day
in this way
even
now . . . -
Poetry from Iran
Memories
The Poem
by Mohsen Emadithe poem is riding a bicycle;
trembling and in haste. -
Graphic Fiction from Korea
Leaving Home
Tell Me Where to Go
by Kim Han-minYou're a born stranger. You'll feel out of place in every country.
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Graphic Nonfiction from Korea
Leaving Home
Grass
by Keum Suk Gendry-Kim"Don't worry about me. I'm your daughter, ain't I? Ma, you just worry about yourself." -
Fiction from Korea
Leaving Home
Garden of My Childhood
by Oh Jung-heeHold on tight. And when I held on to his hair, as he told me to, I got his sticky and greasy hair tonic all over my hands. -
Poetry from Korea
Leaving Home
Earning My Keep
by Jeong Ho-SeungMother,
I think I'll go pay a visit to Hell.
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Nonfiction from Korea
Food
A Meal of Solitude for a Restless Heart
by Jeon SungtaeI had never paid so much attention to the act of eating.
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Fiction from Korea
Food
Wizard Bakery
by Koo Byung-MoGive the cookie to someone you don’t like.
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Fiction from Korea
Food
The Vegetarian
by Han KangBefore my wife turned vegetarian, I’d always thought of her as completely unremarkable in every way.
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Poetry from Korea
Food
Injeolmi Rice Cakes
by Kim Sa-inWhen Grandmother came home at sunset,
if her business had been good, I would be so disappointed. -
Fiction from Iran
Transformation
Encounter
by Goli TaraghiI have a feeling that it is a mistake to go to the party at Mr. M.'s, especially under the circumstances.
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Graphic Nonfiction from Iran
Transformation
An Iranian Metamorphosis
by Mana NeyestaniWrite why you drew that cartoon and why you chose a Turkish word.
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Poetry from Iran
Transformation
I Pity the Garden
by Forugh FarrokhzadHe carries his despair everywhere,
just as he carries his birth certificate
diary, napkin, lighter and pen.
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Nonfiction from Iran
Leaving Home
A Year Among the Boat People, My People
by Amir Ahmadi ArianWhat brings people together isn’t language. If anything, when times are hard, shared language can deepen divisions.
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Nonfiction from Iran
Leaving Home
How to be a Woman in Tehran
by Habibe JafarianAny way you look at it, it’s this town that taught me to be ruthless.
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Fiction from Iran
Leaving Home
Galileo
by Aliyeh AtaeiOne wrong move and somebody was bound to shout, “Watch yourself! You’re in Iran now."
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Graphic Nonfiction from Iran
Leaving Home
A Short Guide to Being the Perfect Political Refugee
by Mana NeyestaniThis child has all the signs he'll have a promising future as a refugee. We should enroll him in French classes!
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Fiction from Iran
Leaving Home
Ney Boulevard
by Ghazal Mosadeq“So you’re suddenly so sensitive ever since you became gay?”
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Nonfiction from Iran
Leaving Home
Hunger
by Salar AbdohThe city is food.
I was fifteen back then and always hungry.
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Poetry from Russia
Money and Possessions
Fragments from the Dollmaker's Life
by Danila Davydov—What happens in your shop
Why do you spend all night and day in there -
Fiction from Russia
Money and Possessions
Grandmother's Little Hut
by Andrei PlatonovMy father left us for a fat woman.
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Poetry from Russia
Money and Possessions
Unity of Form
by Regina DerievaI've always received
kingly presents. I got
worn-out pans
and rusted teapots,
patched up bedsheets
and unstitched shirts, -
Poetry from Russia
Leaving Home
An Uncoincidence, A Noncoincidence
by Larissa MillerSomeone rushes to a house that's been moved away.
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Nonfiction from Russia
Leaving Home
On the Moscow Metro and Being Gay
by Dmitry KuzminIt is therefore useless to say here: “I’m gay and I have rights.”
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Fiction from Russia
Leaving Home
The Stone Guest
by Hamid Ismailov"…the artistes, they can not to take part in big lyings."
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Poetry from Russia
Leaving Home
Soul, you are a street
by Aleksey PorvinI am a paving block and slipperiness.
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Graphic Nonfiction from Russia
Money and Possessions
Slaves of Moscow
by Victoria Lomasko“Why do the police not help us? Where do citizens turn when they have been deceived as we have? Does money really decide everything nowadays?”
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Fiction from Russia
Transformation
Arm Wrestling in Chebachinsk
by Alexandr Chudakov"Think that's funny?" said Grandfather. "Think I've gone all weak? . . ."
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Nonfiction from Russia
Transformation
My Story of Chess
by Shota IatashviliAnd I wanted to play her so badly . . . I was just itching to play her . . . I had my stare ready . . .
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Fiction from Russia
Transformation
None of Your Business
by Natalia KlyucharevaBy the time Yurka went into middle school, the disgrace had definitely come untucked, like a dirty shirt.
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Fiction from Russia
Transformation
The Golem in the Mirror
by Nadezhda GorlovaI followed the crazy old woman. It was my own dear grandmother.
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Fiction from Russia
Transformation
Milgrom
by Ludmilla PetrushevskayaIt's May, it's the year nineteen hundred and something, a hot spring and there's nothing to wear. -
Fiction from Mexico
Leaving Home
The Gringo Champion
by Aura XilonenAnd to think I swore I’d stay out of trouble on this side of the world. -
Fiction from Mexico
Mothers
The Egyptian Tomb
by Beatriz EspejoEvery time she visited, she felt a crushing weariness, as though her entire life were caving in on her. -
Graphic Fiction from Russia
Leaving Home
The Only True Guide to Russia: Hidden Secrets Revealed
by Ilia KitupEveryone who has never been to Russia is well aware of the fact . . .
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Fiction from Russia
Leaving Home
The Bed
by Vladimir VertlibWe made it into the country despite all the red tape and legal hurdles. If you believe in something strongly enough, it will come true . . .
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Fiction from Russia
Leaving Home
A Dream in Polar Fog
by Yuri Rytkheu“We believe that we live on the best land in the world. That’s the beauty, that no one wants it except for us . . . "
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Fiction from Russia
Leaving Home
Pears from Gudauty
by Ludmila UlitskayaThe pears ran out at the same time as she ran out of peoples. -
Fiction from Japan
Transformation
Once Upon a Swing
by Shinji IshiiI once had a baby brother. An oh-so-very strange one at that. -
Graphic Fiction from Japan
Transformation
Tetsu of the Yamanote Line
by Osamu TezukaThose fingers of yours were the lightest the Yamanote Line ever saw. Or have you lost your touch? -
Poetry from Japan
Transformation
Do Not Tremble
by Hirata ToshikoI did not know that the earth
Is an unruly cradle -
Fiction from Japan
Transformation
Narcissus
by Dazai Osamu“People are going to laugh at you. Don’t go through with this.” -
Fiction from Japan
Transformation
Face
by Asa Nonami"Notice, please! Tell me that I’m beautiful!" -
Fiction from Japan
Transformation
When My Wife Was A Shiitake
by Kyoko Nakajima"If I could go back in time to another age, I think I’d choose to go back to the time when I was a shiitake." -
Fiction from Japan
Transformation
Metamorphosis
by Fumiko Enchi"But remember, no matter how upset you feel, you mustn't lose your composure."
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Fiction from Japan
Memories
Stance Dots
by Toshiyuki Horie“The sound of the pins. Listen when they’re bouncing around.”
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Fiction from Japan
Memories
The Memory
by Mitsuyo KakutaIn the end, her beauty terrifies them.
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Poetry from Japan
Memories
Riverwilt
by Nomura KiwaoCan I get across—Walk across?
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Nonfiction from Japan
Memories
Walking the Keihin Factory Belt with Stuart Dybek
by Motoyuki Shibata"He wants you to join him. To play baseball at the riverside." -
Graphic Nonfiction from Japan
Leaving Home
A Drifting Life
by Yoshihiro TatsumiThat's what you get for drawing manga every day. -
Fiction from Japan
Leaving Home
The Last Picture Show
by Ryu MurakamiI’d never forgive that film for making a man like Tatsumi cry. -
Fiction from Japan
Leaving Home
The Farside
by Hideo Furukawa“Hey, sister, you’ve got sharp eyes. It’s a natural talent.” -
Fiction from Japan
Ghosts, Dreams, and Visions
The Trapped Boy
by Keiichiro HiranoMy heart has bared a set of fangs and they’re gnawing away at my chest. -
Nonfiction from Japan
Ghosts, Dreams, and Visions
Director's Notes on "Sway"
by Nishikawa MiwaA man knelt alone on the edge of a cliff, staring down at the pool of a waterfall far below. A woman had sunk in its depths.
I think she had been his friend
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Fiction from Japan
Ghosts, Dreams, and Visions
Compos Mentis
by Kanji HanawaThe seat was wet because something had made it wet. -
Fiction from Japan
Ghosts, Dreams, and Visions
The Hole in the Garden, Part I
by Sakumi TayamaWell, now that I had the pig I had no choice but to raise her as best I could. -
Fiction from Japan
Leaving Home
Sentimental Education
by Kaho NakayamaThe woman gave birth to a baby girl at the maternity hospital and then disappeared the very same day. -
Fiction from Japan
Ghosts, Dreams, and Visions
The Kiso Wayfarer
by Okamoto KidoHe’s a ghost. He definitely isn’t human. -
Fiction from Japan
Ghosts, Dreams, and Visions
Spirit Summoning, Part I
by Sakumi TayamaWe weren’t just regular mediums, either—we were frauds.
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Nonfiction from Egypt
Revolution
The Egyptian Revolution Won’t be Fooled
by Nawal El SaadawiWe have learned from history that every revolution has enemies.
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Fiction from Mexico
Leaving Home
Dreams and Memories of a Common Man
by Marcos Matías AlonsoI even started to dream of returning to my village with a car and a lot of money.
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Poetry from Egypt
Friendship
Amina
by Iman MersalMy perfect friend,
why don't you leave now.
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Poetry from Egypt
Revolution
Sometimes Wisdom Possesses Me
by Iman MersalOne day wisdom will possess me
and I will not go to the party. -
Nonfiction from China
Taboo Topics
Prison Memoirs
by Wang Dan"If you happen to be behind bars, you should keep talking . . . "
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Nonfiction from China
Taboo Topics
An Interview with Yan Lianke
by Yan Lianke. . . the most chilling thing is the way we censor ourselves.
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Fiction from China
Fathers
Timid as a Mouse
by Yu Hua"Those who are afraid of tigers, raise your hands." -
Graphic Fiction from Egypt
Revolution
Proud Beggars
by Albert Cossery and GoloWhat does a man need to live? A bit of bread is enough.
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Fiction from China
Fathers
Appendix
by Yu HuaMy father used to be a surgeon. He was strong and healthy, and talked in a resonant voice. -
Graphic Fiction from Egypt
Friendship
The Last of the Bunch
by Migo RolzzYou're young and I don't want my feelings to get hurt!
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Nonfiction from China
Taboo Topics
An Interview with Wu Wenjian
by Liao YiwuI was nobody, like a piece of sesame in a big pot of soup. -
Fiction from Egypt
Friendship
The Veiler of All Deeds
by Hamdi Abu GolayyelWhen Abu Gamal revealed Shaykh Hasan's secret to the residents of Number 36 . . .
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Nonfiction from Mexico
Drug Wars
Violence and Drug-Trafficking in Mexico
by Juan VilloroIn Mexico, people will pay up to $70,000 dollars for a license to hunt and kill a bighorn sheep. Killing a man is much cheaper . . .
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Fiction from Egypt
Mothers
Mrs. Saniya's Holiday
by Na’am al-Baz"Forget the admirer, Saniya. This guy will not take care of you."
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Nonfiction from Egypt
Leaving Home
Memories of Chernobyl
by Mohamed MakhzangiThe entire city began to wash itself ceaselessly . . .
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Nonfiction from Mexico
Drug Wars
The Mystery of the Parakeet, the Rooster, and the Nanny Goat
by Fabrizio Mejía MadridThe parakeet is cocaine, the rooster is the marijuana and the nanny goat is an AK-47 assault rifle.
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Graphic Fiction from Egypt
Leaving Home
The Apartment in Bab el-Louk
by Donia Maher and GanzeerOutside your window, Cairo's nooks and crannies are lonely and forsaken, like a deserted crime scene.
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Fiction from China
Taboo Topics
Death Fugue
by Sheng KeyiHow could anyone separate love from lust, any more than one could separate the flavor of chocolate out of chocolate ice cream?
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Graphic Nonfiction from Egypt
Revolution
Two Million People in the Square
by Magdy El ShafeeWe're the ones who overturned the riot police trucks.
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Nonfiction from China
Taboo Topics
This Country Must Break Apart
by Liao YiwuWe are no longer poets; we have become witnesses of history.
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Fiction from Egypt
Mothers
It’s a Chick, Not a Dog
by Jar al-Nabi al-HilwMy mother knew he was walking after her. Almost certainly she knew. Do you want me to tell you why?
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Nonfiction from China
Taboo Topics
The Story of a Homosexual: An Interview with Ni Dongxue
by Liao YiwuJust hold my hands tightly. I won't force you to kiss me or do anything.
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Poetry from Mexico
Leaving Home
Marías Mazahuas
by Fausto Guadarrama LópezWhere do you go, "Marías," where do you go?
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Poetry from Egypt
Leaving Home
Things Elude Me
by Iman MersalOne day I will pass by
the house that used to be my home . . . -
Graphic Fiction from Egypt
Leaving Home
The Pharaohs of Egypt
by Florent Ruppert and Jérôme Mulot"This way over there, you stupid savage."
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Poetry from China
Fathers
Two or Three Things from the Past
by Yu JianHe stood on the side watching everyone play . . .
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Poetry from Mexico
Drug Wars
Sleepless Homeland
by Carmen BoullosaDid we lose you in a game of dice? . . .
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Fiction from Egypt
Leaving Home
The Guest
by Miral Al-TahawyShe undid the dirty belt from her waist so that he could look upon the body that was like a piece of smooth white cheese.
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Fiction from Mexico
Leaving Home
A Failed Journey
by Aura EstradaThey warned her that one more offense against good behavior and the promised trip to the promised land (the United States) would be cancelled . . .
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Poetry from Mexico
Mothers
Nothing Remains Empty
by Juan Gregorio ReginoThere is a place in the Universe
where the memory of time
is recorded. -
Poetry from Mexico
Drug Wars
Notes on a Zombie Cataclysm
by Luis Felipe FabreBecause things
are turning weird: because they found
just the arm . . . -
Nonfiction from Mexico
Mothers
My Madre, Pure as Cumulous Clouds
by Liza Bakewell"Madres are pure and perfect. In Mexico."
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Poetry from Mexico
Mothers
Purépecha Mother
by Gilberto Jerónimo MateoShe is not a queen.
Hungry, early in the morning she goes for firewood . . .