About this project
Words without Borders, a 501(c)3 dedicated to the translation, publication, and promotion of literature in translation, would like to publish an issue of contemporary writing from Afghanistan in May 2011. This will be our first issue dedicated to Afghanistan, and we believe it issue will shed crucial light on the peoples and culture of Afghanistan.
Words without Borders will be commissioning translations from both the Pashto and Dari.
Currently we've secured commitments from two top Dari writers of the twenty-first century: Mohammad Hosain Mohammadi's "Dasht-i Laili," from the short-story collection Anjirha-ye Sorkh-e Mazar which was awarded the prestigious Golshiri prize for best short-story collection in 2004-5, as well as a story by Mohammad Asif Soltanzadah. We've also secured Pashto writer Sher Zaman Taizi's "PaTay."
Others under consideration:
Contemporary Pashto prose: Mohammad Zarin Anzor, Pir Mohammad Karwan, Safia Haleem, Sa'duddin Shpoon, Emal Pasarlay, Abdul Wakil Sulamal Shinwari, Akbar Bari. Contemporary Dari prose: Mohammad Azam Rahnaward Zaryab, Spozhmai Zaryab, Khaled Nawisa, Zalmay Babakohi, Hossein Fakhri.
Money from Kickstarter will be used to underwrite the production costs of the issue, including editor payments.
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This project successfully raised its funding goal on March 11, 2011.
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A copy of Words without Borders: The World through the Eyes of Writers (Anchor, 2007). Writers like Edwidge Danticat, Ha Jin, Cynthia Ozick, Javier Marias, introduce new and rising international talent. A bit more on that here: http://wordswithoutborders.org/books/words-without-borders/
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A copy of The Ecco Anthology of International Poetry (Ecco 2010). Alongside renowned masters such as Neruda, Amichai, Brodsky, and Appolinaire, there are many new discoveries—internationally celebrated poets who have rarely, if ever, been translated into English. Edited by Ilya Kaminsky and Susan Harris of Words without Borders, The Ecco Anthology of International Poetry serves as a canonical touchstone in the field of poetics, bringing voices from afar to students. More here: http://wordswithoutborders.org/books/the-ecco-anthology-of-international-poetry/
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A copy of Tablet & Pen: Literary Landscapes from the Modern Middle East and a copy of The Ecco Anthology of International Poetry.
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Project By
Connected as Joshua Mandelbaum (230 friends)
Words without Borders translates, publishes, and promotes the finest contemporary international literature. Every month, on our online magazine, we publish eight to ten new works by international writers. We have published works by Nobel Prize winner J.M.G Le Clézio, Herta Müller, Mahmoud Darwish, Etgar Keret, Per Petterson, Fadhil Al-Azzawi, W.G. Sebald, and Ma Jian, as well as many new and rising international writers. Since 2003 we have published well over 1200 pieces from 114 countries and ninety languages.
In addition to producing the magazine, we have partner with publishing houses to release five print anthologies, the most recent being Tablet & Pen: Literary Landscapes from the Modern Middle East (W.W. Norton and Company, 2010).
Finally, Words without Borders is building an education program in order to expose students at both the high school and college levels to a broader spectrum of contemporary international literature.
