Editor's Note

Experience the world anew through non-human eyes in “Vivarium,” our Spring 2023 issue! From macaques to marmots, muntjacs to mosshoppers and microscopic prokaryotes, a superabundance of literary life overflows from 30 different countries. In this thriving biosphere, you’ll find work from Estonia and Oman flowering in the same soil as Alaa Abu Asad’s Wild Plants and our first entry from Bolivia via Pulitzer Prizewinner Forrest Gander. The same Pangaean ecosystem sustains our animal-themed special feature headlined by Yolanda González, recipient of the 2001 Premio Café Gijón Prize, and 2018 Booker International longlistee Wu Ming-Yi. Alongside these, there are the always thought-provoking words of Italian poet Franca Mancinelli, which bloom in both the Interview and Poetry sections—the latter also shelters Fernando Pessoa, whose brilliant co-translators Margaret Jull Costa and Patricio Ferrari have rendered him in one of his most mordant heteronyms, Álvaro de Campos. 

If to pass between life forms is to tap into “depositories of ancient wisdom,” what might we glean from the creatures that reside in our very first animal-themed feature? In Johanna Drucker’s delightfully offbeat eco-fiction, a sharp-witted prokaryote dispenses commentary on the push-pull of community and autonomy—“minimal and absolute” in autopoiesis. This lesson reverberates in the whale songs of Yolanda González’s lyrical prose, whose queens of the sea swim on and on as one. Such resonances across the expanse of the animal kingdom cannot be a coincidence. We all yearn for the same things: Warmth and nourishment, which for Jean-François Beauchemin’s abandoned and abused protagonist takes the form of a marmot he stumbles upon. The beginnings of an intensely empathetic relationship between a boy and his puppy anchors the “extraordinary conceptual density” of Marcelo Cohen’s film, and serves just as well as the “panconsciousness” of his Panoramic Delta. And, finally, deliverance is realized in Taiwanese novelist Wu Ming-Yi’s work of nativist fiction, in which a tormented widower continues his deceased wife’s search for an elusive leopard. All this is illustrated by our talented Poland-based guest artist Irina Karapetyan.  

“Why limit oneself to people when you can narrate the world in all its multiplicity?” says Javier Moreno. We couldn’t have put it better ourselves. The very concept of inter-being (as coined by Thich Nhat Hanh) is a natural extension of our work: Translation is the very act of shedding one’s skin after all, as Robin Munby insinuates in his slithery Brave New World Literature feature. For the manic diarist of Mircea Cărtărescu’s Solenoid, however, all attempt at “inter-being” is futile, for there is no escaping the “prison house of consciousness.” When literature falls short in furnishing a true escape, it can at least offer profound awareness, as Jibbe Willems does in his unsettling drama that centers the plight of a female migrant. Just as poignantly, Yevgenia Belorusets’s interview, conducted and translated by longtime supporter Eugene Ostashevsky, places us squarely in her viewpoint amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, now in its second year. 

Only the most ambitious curation can do full justice to the staggering creativity that the world’s writers produce. For twelve years now, Asymptote has distinguished itself as the premier site for international literature. Within our pages, you’ll discover urgent new voices from just about everywhere. But we can’t carry on without your help. Unpaywalled and ineligible for most grants by dint of our international setup, we rely on grassroots funding from our readers like you to continue. Please consider getting involved today by signing up as a sustaining or masthead member for as little as $5 per month. Do you or your organization work in world literature? If so, our recently unveiled 2023 Advertisers’ Media Kit lays out all the ways in which you can leverage our platform to spread word of your own projects. In fact, we’re offering a special 20% discount from now to May 1st for all ads.

Also closing on May 1st is the submission window for our paid Indonesian Feature organized in partnership with the Lontar Foundation (guidelines can be found here). Not a translator from the Indonesian? You’re welcome to submit to our regular categories all year round; not only do we guarantee a one-month turnaround time, we also offer editorial feedback for a small additional fee. With access to featured authors or translators via monthly Zoom sessions, our Book Club will take your reading to the next level for as little as USD20 a month. Join our international reading community by becoming a member today. Finally, don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, our two Instagram accounts, and our daily blog for all that this hothouse of world literature has to offer. What new ways of living will you find?

—Lee Yew Leong, Editor-in-Chief



Editorial Team for Issue April 2023

Editor-in-Chief: Lee Yew Leong (Taiwan/Singapore)

Assistant Managing Editors: Daljinder Johal (UK/India), Marina Dora Martino (Italy), Laurel Taylor (USA), and Michal Zechariah (USA)

Section Editors:
Lee Yew Leong (Taiwan/Singapore)
Barbara Halla (Albania)
Caridad Svich (USA/UK)
Ian Ross Singleton (USA)
Heather Green (USA)

Co-editors of the animal-themed Special Feature, “A Vivarium”: Lee Yew Leong (Taiwan/Singapore) and Charlie Ng Chak-Kwan (Hong Kong)

Senior Assistant Editor: Alex Tan (Singapore)

Assistant Editors: Lynn Palermo (USA), M.L. Martin (Canada), Matt Turner (USA), Megan Sungyoon (South Korea), Michelle Chan Schmidt (Ireland), Rachel Landau (USA), Rachel Rankin (UK), Terézia Klasová (Czech Republic), Tyler Candelora (USA), and Lin Chia-Wei (Taiwan)

Contributing Editors: Ellen Elias-Bursac (USA), Aamer Hussein (UK), Sim Yee Chiang (Singapore), Dylan Suher (USA), and Adrian West (USA)

Art Director: Lee Yew Leong (Taiwan/Singapore)

Editor-at-large, Armenia: Kristina Tartarian
Editor-at-large, Bulgaria: Andriana Hamas
Editor-at-large, China: Jiaoyang Li
Editor-at-large, Croatia: Kristina Gadze
Editors-at-large, Guatemala: José García Escobar and Rubén Lopéz
Editor-at-large, Hong Kong: Charlie Ng Chak-Kwan
Editors-at-large, India: Areeb Ahmad and Zohra Salih
Editor-at-large, Kenya: Wambua Muindi
Editor-at-large, Macedonia: Sofija Popovska
Editor-at-large, Mexico: Alan Mendoza Sosa
Editor-at-large, Palestine: Carol Khoury
Editor-at-large, Philippines: Alton Melvar M. Dapanas
Editor-at-large, Romania and Moldova: MARGENTO
Editor-at-large, Slovakia: Julia Sherwood
Editor-at-Large, Spain: Marina García Pardavilla
Editor-at-large, Sweden: Eva Wissting
Editor-at-large, Uzbekistan: Filip Noubel
Editor-at-large, Vietnamese Diaspora: Thuy Dinh


Masthead for Issue April 2023

Fiction, Poetry, Brave New World Literature Feature, and Interview: Lee Yew Leong
Nonfiction: Ian Ross Singleton
Drama: Caridad Svich
Visual: Heather Green
Criticism: Barbara Halla
“A Vivarium”: Lee Yew Leong and Charlie Ng Chak-Kwan
Illustrations and Cover: Irina Karapetyan

Assistant Managing Editor (supervising issue production): Lee Yew Leong

Assistant Managing Editors (supervising Assistant Editors): Laurel Taylor and Marina Martino

Assistant Managing Editors (supervising Editors-at-large): Daljinder Johal and Michal Zechariah

Chief Executive Assistant: Rachel Farmer

Senior Executive Assistant: Julie Shi

Executive Assistants: Chinmay Rastogi, Heloisa Selles, Iona Tait, and Meenakshi Ajit

Blog Editor: Xiao Yue Shan

Assistant Blog Editors: Bella Creel and Meghan Racklin

Newsletter Editor: Cody Siler

Art Director and Guest Artist Liaison: Lee Yew Leong

Senior Copy Editors: Cecilia Weddell, Ellen Elias-Bursac, Mia Manns, and Rachel Stanyon

Copy Editors: Andrea Blatz, Bella Bosworth, Ellen Sprague, Iona Tait, Liam Sprod, Matilde Ribeiro, and Matthew Redman

Technical Manager: József Szabó

Director of Outreach: Georgina Fooks

Assistant Director of Outreach: Catherine Xinxin Yu

English Social Media: Annilee Newton, Livia Djelani, Ruwa Alhayek, and Samantha Mateo

Spanish Social Media: Sergio Serrano and Victor Quevedo

French Social Media: Filip Noubel

Graphic Designer: Michael Laungjessadakun

Digital Editors: Bridget Peak and Matthew Redman

Marketing Managers: Kate Lofthouse and Samantha Seifert 

Business Developer: Daniel Naman

Director, Educational Arm: Mary Hillis

Educational Arm Assistants: Irmak Ertuna, Thirangie Jayatilake, Anna Rumsby, and Sarah Nasar

Book Club Manager: Carol Khoury

Asymptote would like to acknowledge the support of the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China, Brittany Dennison, Mona Pfletschinger, and Rose Sheehan.

For their generous donations this past quarter, our heartfelt thanks go too to Christina Kramer, Claire Hegarty, Daniel Hahn, Elizabeth Raible, Jeffrey Boyle, Jenna Colozza, Katarzyna Bartoszynska, Katie Boynton, Lynn O'Neal, MARGENTO, Marjolijn de Jager, Mark Cohen, Martin Ingebrigtsen, Matthew Mazowita, Mireille Pierre-louis, Monty Reid, Nhi Ta Huong, Philip Feinsilver, Phuong Anh, Thomas Carroll, Velina Manolova, and Xiangxiu Meng.

Back

Fiction

Javier Moreno, from Null Island

Translated from the Spanish by James Terry

Why limit oneself to people when you can narrate the world in all its multiplicity?

Maria Galina, from Mole Crickets

Translated from the Russian by Lisa C. Hayden

Back then it seemed like there it was, the whole world, and you’re in it and all that.

Leif Randt, from The Haze over Coby County

Translated from the German by Aaron Sayne

What those billboards showed me was time passing, how the days were going by, never to return.

María Pérez-Talavera, Oumuamua

Translated from the Spanish by Paul Filev

This was no collective hallucination. We saw a UFO.

Margit Lõhmus, Weird

Translated from the Estonian by D. E. Hurford

A moment before my death I saw an eagle flying.

Poetry

Siranuysh Ohanyan, Four Poems

Translated from the Armenian by Antranik Cassem

I died: unknown birds purloined my soul

Mariana Berenice Bredow Vargas, Let it Go

Translated from the Spanish by Forrest Gander

there’s life // dreaming you past the pain, let’s go

Malú Urriola, from Exquisite Corpse

Translated from the Spanish by Elena Barcia

For you to exist, there must be an outside and I am all inside.

Ye Hui, Four Poems

Translated from the Chinese by Dong Li

Every day, every century
The separation they endure falls like showers

Fernando Pessoa, from The Complete Works of Álvaro de Campos

Translated from the Portuguese by Margaret Jull Costa and Patricio Ferrari

Look: everything is literature.
Everything comes to us from outside, like the rain.

Antònia Vicens i Picornell, from Lovely

Translated from the Catalan by Laia Sales Merino

If at twenty I treaded waves
it was to turn sorrow into wine.

Pamela Proietti, Two Poems

Translated from the Italian by Donna Mancusi-Ungaro Hart and Stephen Eric Berry

A street runs alongside
the days we live.

Leslie Kaplan, from Book of Skies

Translated from the French by Jennifer Pap and Julie Carr

Fractured world, ruins within. Wooden gates.
And behind, production.

Franca Mancinelli, Seven Poems

Translated from the Italian by John Taylor

you come as the translation
of a stele dissolved in the body

S. Asef Hossaini, After My Own Death

Translated from the Persian by Hajar Hussaini

My hands are shoved inside your throat
to pull out all the poisons.

Criticism

Mircea Cărtărescu, Solenoid

Translated from the Romanian by Sean Cotter

A review by Alex Lanz

For all its escapist pleasures, fiction fastens its readers to the world; its promises are always empty. “True” writing must furnish a true escape.

Rocío Agreda Piérola, Horses Drawn with Blue Chalk

Translated from the Spanish by Jessica Sequeira

A review by Guillermo Rebollo Gil

There is a sense of capaciousness about an I that assumes both country and century.

Carla Lonzi’s Self-Portrait: Experiments in Feminist Criticism

Translated from the Italian by Allison Grimaldi Donahue

A review by Carlotta Moro

More than fifty years since its first edition, the English translation of this text preserves the fiery, unsettling power of Carla Lonzi’s voice.

Léonora Miano, Twilight of Torment: I. Melancholy

Translated from the French by Gila Walker

A review by Nibir K. Ghosh

In the manner of Chinua Achebe, Miano intuitively chose the language of the colonizer to ascertain her African identity.

Nonfiction

Gunnhild Øyehaug, But Out There—Out There–

Translated from the Norwegian by Francesca M. Nichols

What is it that creeps towards the shore again and again? The answer: Incompleteness.

Julius Sasnauskas, Liberating Joy

Translated from the Lithuanian by Delija Valiukenas

Happiness is a dangerous thing, a force to be reckoned with.

Pavel Lembersky, Going to California

Translated from the Russian by Jane Ann Miller

“In v-v-view of of the fact we belong to two v-vastly different cultures, I just can’t see that we have anything to ta-talk about, and so good-bye and good luck.”

Zia Ahmed, The Sufi Who Saved Me

Translated from the Arabic by Zia Ahmed

My goal was neither god nor country. I wanted her.

Drama

Jibbe Willems, from The Polish Bride

Translated from the Dutch by David McKay

of course she knew about the dark side but the things that happened to other people didn’t have to happen to her

Marius Ivaškevičius, from Russian Romance

Translated from the Russian by Kotryna Garanasvili

This is what’s behind that door—a fire that creates the world of tomorrow.

Visual

Alaa Abu Asad, Wild Plants

Yevgenia Belorusets, “The Complaint Against Language” in Wartime Ukraine

Translated from the English and Russian by Eugene Ostashevsky

Brave New World Literature

Robin Munby, A New Vocabulary of Translation

Returning to the article, she placed a neatly cropped sticky note over the offending sentence and wrote the following words in fine red ink: “This translation is rugose, well keeled and granular.”

A Vivarium

Yolanda González, from Song of the Whale-road

Translated from the Spanish by Robin Munby

We swim on from the chain’s beginning to its end, with the same speed as the melting ice, just as inexorable, just as urgent.

Wu Ming-Yi, from Cloudland

Translated from the Chinese by Catherine Xinxin Yu

In the world inhabited by words, Pawz finally discovers a gigantic Chamaecyparis formosensis above the sea of clouds on Mount Beidawu, where no human being has ever set foot.

Jean-François Beauchemin, from Day of the Crows

Translated from the French by Alice Heathwood

Father could uncrypt the comings and goings of the air: from treetop, he espied the distant progress of gust and cyclone, thus foretelling our hazard or haven.

Marcelo Cohen, Ruby and the Dancing Lake

Translated from the Spanish by Kit Maude

“Ladies and Gentlemen: the Pups of Dancing Lake!”

Johanna Drucker, Archaean Log or the Autopoiesis of a Prokaryote


                             Cell wall
                 Lipids                  Lipids
     Carbohydrate              Carbohydrate
   Rigid                                                  Rigid
Chain                     Me                            Chain
     Proteins                                       Proteins
     Carbohydrate              Carbohydrate
                     Shape          Shape
                           Cell wall

Interview

An Interview with Franca Mancinelli

Translated from the Italian by John Taylor

The experience of artistic creation takes us to a liminal state in which female and male traits, human and animal features, emerge in us at the same time. In such moments, it is as if we had more arms, more hands holding different objects, as if were suddenly present.