#global lit

[taxi-cab-to-art-town]

Cover Art for Zines

I made some one-page zines for class for a final and decided to do some cover art for the zines. Will add the photos of the zines underneath. Here’s the covers I made for them.

Zines they’re for under cut

[whilereadingandwalking]

The Book of Jakarta: a City in Short Fiction edited by Maesy Ang and Teddy W. Kusuma, is a book full of stories set in the sinking megacity of Jakarta and translated from Bahasa Indonesia.

“Buyan” by utiuts translated by Zoë McLaughlin plays with the dangers of self-driving cars in a suspenseful yet hilarious story about how technology can’t save us from climate disaster. “Grown-Up Kids” by Ziggy Zezsyazeoviennazabrizkie, translated by Annie Tucker, is one of my favorite short stories I read this year—a dark humor tale about the painful toll of capitalism where a group of elderly people make a suicide pact. 

Many of the stories deal with issues of privilege and violence dividing people—in “The Sun Sets in the North” by Cyntha Hariadi, translated by Eliza Vitri Handayani, two young friends are forever divided by riots that shake Jakarta; in “The Aroma of Shrimp Paste” by Hanna Fransisca, translated by Khairani Barokka, a Chinese-Indonesian woman struggles to get a passport through all kinds of twists of bureaucracy, bias, and corruption.

All around this was a fun collection, and a welcome addition to my collection of works in translation from around the world.

Read on for more Indonesian books in translation.

Content warnings for xenophobia, Sinophobia, sex work, racism, violence, sexual assault, suicide.

[persianpoetry]

Hi, salam and doroud

I'll kick off this blog very soon! This blog will be (as you can tell) about Persian poetry. It'll accompany me as I track my own journey through Persian literature. I hope some other people will enjoy it, too. :)

[thevampirewednesday]

[thevampirewednesday]

[wilsonltaylor]

Han Kang, The Vegetarian (2007; translated by Deborah Smith in 2016)

Quietly, she breathes in. The trees by the side of the road are blazing, green fire undulating like the rippling flanks of a massive animal, wild and savage. In-hye stares fiercely at the trees. As if waiting for an answer. As if protesting against something. The look in her eyes is dark and sentient.

[fundforteachers]

A Crusade of a Different Color

On this day in in 1095, Pope Urban II called all Christians in Europe to war against Muslims and regain the Holy Land, beginning the first of nine crusades. Two Chicago Public School teachers/Fund for Teachers Fellows have set out on a related, conciliatory quest rooted in culture. We share their student impact below...

Sounds of clay drums filled the air as visitors strolled among stalls of Islamic art, stopping to have their names written in Arabic. A storyteller shared tales of adventure in one corner as craftsmen carved woodblock animals in another. The musicians, calligraphers, storytellers and artisans weren’t occupying a Moroccan souk, but rather an Arabic Fine Arts Night in the cafeteria of an urban Chicago elementary school.

Earlier that year, art teacher Shana Pearlmutter (Bell Elementary) and Arabic teacher, Mohamed Danja (Lane Tech College Prep) documented with a Fund for Teachers grant the effects of tourism, global development and poverty on the ancient culture of Morocco. Shana’s students recreated art forms researched on her fellowship and both Shana and Mohamed’s students crafted personal biographies to exchange with young women the teachers volunteered with in Marrakesh. Mohamed’s Arabic students continue to write pen pal letters with their Moroccan peer, with whom they also participate in a video conferencing/global awareness project.

“Through relationships we forged during our fellowship in Morocco, we have now an international troop of artisans, students, teachers and collaborators dedicated to helping us promote a cross-cultural dialogue about society, stereotypes and prejudices between students in Marrakech and ours in Chicago,” said Shana. 

View this slideshow of images from the Arabic Fine Arts Night.

Inspired by their new global literacy, eighth graders graduating from Bell Elementary decided to dedicate their school’s 100th birthday year to combating hunger and inequality as outlined in the United Nations Global Goals for Sustainability in 2030. Every K-8 student pledged to support the UN Global Goals and, on UN Global Buddy Day, partnered with peers from different grades to discuss their intentions for changing the world. Their written pledges eventually comprised a permanent “Change the World” mural. 

“My experiences in Mr. Danja’s Arabic class were instrumental in my continuing to study the language in college,” said Seth Davis, a former Lane Tech Arabic student. “By making the Maghrebi culture part of the class and collaborating with the festival at Bell Elementary, he tied the teaching of language into the appreciation of culture. We were exposed to fantastic artists and craftspeople and I still listen to the music he introduced to me in class and at the Bell event.”

This winter, Bell Elementary and Lane Tech will host in Chicago a peer met in Marrakech, coming to shadow their classes and share with students more about life in a Muslim country.

“This work keeps me going,” said Shana. “I love making connections that build awareness and cultural bridges.”

To learn more about this fellowship, visit the blog Shana and Mohamed maintained for students to follow throughout the experience.