Dear Friends:

Join us on the frontiers of international literature to celebrate our new anthology, Words Without Borders: The World Through the Eyes of Writers (Anchor Books), publishing this month. We asked many of the best-known writers in the world to introduce favorite writers yet unknown in English. Their choices resulted in our eponymous anthology: twenty-eight fresh literary talents from Norway to Haiti with writings that range from the sinisterly sexy to the broadly comedic. Here, a sampler of other works by some of our discoveries: Akinwumi Isola's hapless evangelist parses "The Grammar of Easter," while Juan Villoro's burned-out screenwriting brothers cast themselves as "The Guilty." Feral cats are demonic in Can Xue's "Bane of My Existence" and domesticated on both sides of the checkpoint in Hassan Khader's "Nora in Wonderland." Ambar Past provides mordant marching orders in "Practice for Hangmen," Evelyne Trouillot's impoverished beggar clings to her crazed roots "In the Shade of the Almond Tree," and Gamal al-Ghitany summits the pyramids in the mesmerizing "Annihilation." For more by these and other authors in the anthology that Kirkus Reviews calls "one of the best introductions to non-Western writers there is," run to your favorite bookstore.

Too late for the book and available here only: Kenzaburo Oe recommends the English-language debut of Akutagawa Prize-winner Akiko Itoyama, praising her "sharp eye and sly wit."

Elsewhere in the issue, Hisham Matar asks how many dictators it takes to field a stray soccer ball, Vera Kobets watches the Soviet ceiling crumble above her, and Oscar Hahn forecasts marital disturbances.

We'll be holding events throughout the country to celebrate Words Without Borders: The World Through the Eyes of Writers. Please see our extensive events schedule for a reading near you: http://www.wordswithoutborders .org/book_site/events.html

On the Bookshelf, Tsipi Keller reviews A.B. Yehoshua's A Woman in Jerusalem. In this parable, sublimely translated from the Hebrew by Hillel Halkin, quotidian callousness coexists with good humor and humanity. James Marcus reviews Alberto Moravia's Conjugal Love, translated from the Italian by Marina Harrs. "For Moravia," he writes, "needless to say, love is nothing but a medieval trapdoor, with rusty hinges and a long, lethal drop underneath."

Blogs, blogs, blogs: Look for suggestions from WWB's Book Reviews Editor, Dedi Felman, on some of the engaging international literature that's come in the mail. From Poland, Arnon Grunberg dishes on President Carter's new book, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, and on professional paths he didn't choose.

Our first anthology, Literature from the 'Axis of Evil,' continues to garner praise. See the site for interviews with the advisory editors, where to buy the book, and more.

Don't forget that you can announce jobs on our job board and upcoming literary events on our events calendar (accessible by clicking on "Forums" on the left side of homepage).

You may now donate to WWB online at http://www.wordswithoutborders .org/article.php?lab=Giving. Your donation helps us commission more translations of exciting new international works, build our community features, host live readings and events, and continuously improve WWB. We couldn't do it without you and are immensely grateful for your support. Your contribution is tax deductible to the extent allowable by law.

Join us in April, when we'll highlight African voices. In the meantime, if you have questions or comments, please contact us at wwbinfo@wordswithoutborders.org. We look forward to hearing from you. Hope you enjoy the site.

The Editors

A*** Salierno Mason, Founding Editor
Dedi Felman
Susan Harris
Michelle Risley
Samantha Schnee