Imprisonment of GN Saibaba Is Tantamount to Torture

In a statement given to the Scholars at Risk, his wife Vasantha Kumari said that during her last phone call with Saibaba, he “could speak with great difficulty. We could make out he was breathless, his throat was sore.” With each passing day, it grows increasingly troubling that, even after a positive test for Covid-19, the Indian government and the government of Maharashtra State will continue their practice of denying basic medical care to Saibaba.

The Land of Make Believe

by Michelle Fossum

“Last night I dreamt That Tom Hanks was my houseguest. His neighborly limbs were/Too long to fit comfortably within our walls,/ Having grown smaller somehow. Is it because of the quarantine,/
I thought, or was the house always this size?”

How to Survive in America: A Conversation with Damon Young

Last summer, Damon Young — the writer, critic, and humorist — partnered with City of Asylum to host a six-episode series called “How to Survive in America” in which he interviewed some of his favorite writers about writing, race, living through COVID-19, and everything in between.

Human Nature

by M. Jay Kardon

“How do I tell you…/ I read poems in a/ patch house, Vesta 6,/ poems that celebrate/nature read in a house”

An Interview with Alane Salierno Mason

Alane Salierno Mason revisits the early days of Words Without Borders and shares a brief glimpse of her time as an at W.W. Norton.

Three Poems by Bewketu Seyoum

“I will continue to want
with no getting
your warmth, your love
your arms, your thighs.
Missing you is the real disease
no vaccine can prevent it.”

– Bewketu Seyoum

The Many Complexities of Bewketu Seyoum

Ethiopian novelist and poet Bewketu Seyoum discusses his writing process, how he remains connected to Ethiopia, and how the pandemic has inspired his writing.