A few years back I read a longish, semi-autobiographical novel by Guo Xuebo (郭雪波), who was raised in the Horchin Grasslands of Inner Mongolia (科尔沁草原) and is a native speaker of Mongolian. Entitled 《蒙古里亚》— an attempt to replicate the sound of “Mongolia” in Chinese, I assume — it comprises three distinct narratives that are intricately … Continue reading Altaic Storytelling: What We’re Reading Now (2017.5)
Hundreds of Turkish Journalists in Jail or on the Run
The Hürriyet Daily News English edition reports: Some 123 Turkish journalists are fugitives abroad, while 159 of them were in jail as of the end of April, according to a report by the Turkish Journalists Association (TGC). The Freedom of Expression and Press report, which was made possible by the European Union, said 46 new investigations were … Continue reading Hundreds of Turkish Journalists in Jail or on the Run
Quote of the Week: Lumières de Pointe-Noire
Quand tu grandiras, quelle que soit la brousse dans laquelle tu entreras, dis-toi que les esprits y logent, et respecte aussi bien la faune que la flore, y compris les objets qui te paraissent sans intérêt comme un champignon ou un pauvre petit ver de terre qui tente de regagner le bord d'un rivière. Chez nous … Continue reading Quote of the Week: Lumières de Pointe-Noire
Uyghur Author Alat Asem: Backgrounder in French
Brigitte Duzan at chinese-shortstories.com has just posted a detailed introduction to Alat Asem (阿拉提·阿斯木), a bilingual Uyghur writer based in Xinjiang. Here is her translation of the editor's Afterword to his collection of short stories, 蝴蝶时代 (The Butterfly Era): Dans le paysage éditorial de la littérature contemporaine chinoise, la littérature du Xinjiang dégage un charme … Continue reading Uyghur Author Alat Asem: Backgrounder in French
Quote of the Week: Qui a peur du wolof?
Si tout écrivain entretient des rapports orageux avec les mots, dans le cas de l'auteur africain, c'est sa langue d'écriture qui est tout entière problématique. On m'a ainsi demandé d'abord: 《Pourquoi ecrivez-vous en français?》, puis après la parution de mon roman Doomi Golo: 《Pourquoi écrivez-vous en wolof?》 (Senegalese author Boubacar Boris Diop in Le dilemme … Continue reading Quote of the Week: Qui a peur du wolof?
Ahmet Ümit Translation Forum: No Chinese Presence?
A one-day symposium titled “Translating Ahmet Ümit into Foreign Languages” will be held on April 7 in Istanbul at Okan University’s Beyoğlu campus. The symposium will be attended by 11 translators from various countries, according to a report in Hurriyet Daily News. For a Turkish writer of fiction, Ümit (阿赫梅特·乌米特) has been fairly widely translated … Continue reading Ahmet Ümit Translation Forum: No Chinese Presence?
Boubacar Boris Diop and His Wolof Publication Initiative
Boubacar Boris Diop, Senegalese author of Doomi Golo which he wrote in Wolof (and later translated into French), has launched the “Céytu” initiative to publish major works of francophone literature in Wolof. The language is spoken by about 11m people in Sénégal, Mauritania and the Gambia. In this interview with Anne Bocandé of africultures.com, he explains the … Continue reading Boubacar Boris Diop and His Wolof Publication Initiative
非漂出版专讯: 2017.4 AfroLit4China Newsbriefs
Chimamanda Ngozi, the Afropolitan: . . . because she has walked so confidently into the realm of non-fiction, and has agreed on multiple occasions, to take up the mantle of “spokesperson,” there is an increasing expectation that she is up to the task; that she can in fact authentically speak on behalf of the fans who … Continue reading 非漂出版专讯: 2017.4 AfroLit4China Newsbriefs
非漂出版专讯: 2017.3 AfroLit4China Newsbriefs
Call for Papers Workshop on Strategies for the Promotion of African Language Literature. To be held at the University of Vienna May 2-4. Deadline for abstracts: March 15, 2017. Topics J.O.J. Nwachukwu-Agbada's Nigerian Written Literature Since 1914: . . . to write a piece of African literature without the injection of African traditional materials is … Continue reading 非漂出版专讯: 2017.3 AfroLit4China Newsbriefs
Extract from Chi Zijian’s New Novel, “Peak among the Mountains” (群山之巅)
The Saber When livestock catch sight of Xin Qiza, the Butcher of Longzhan Town, they realize that this is their doomsday sun. They take fright, even though that isn’t a butcher knife strapped at his waist — it’s just his beloved pipe. Winter or summer, as long as it’s sunny, Xin Qiza needn’t light his … Continue reading Extract from Chi Zijian’s New Novel, “Peak among the Mountains” (群山之巅)
Altaic Storytelling 