“The Shadeless Border” by Jiyar Jahan Fard
The Yarsanis are a unique ethno-religious group centered in Kermanshah, in Iranian Kurdistan. With estimated adherents surpassing one million, this little-known syncretic religion dates from the 14th century and has elements reminiscent of Zoroanstrianism and other non-Islamic traditions, and is…“Abandoning a Cat” by Haruki Murakami
Parents are few and far between in Haruki Murakami novels. The Japanese author’s protagonists are adrift, often removed from their friends but nearly always removed from their families. This fictional alienation reflects a postwar dilution of collectivism in Japan as…“Foreigners” by EL Shen
When Dawn Chin is assigned a high school history project to interview a family member, she picks her paternal grandmother and learns more about her family history than she expected, including a couple of life-altering secrets. All the lies, all…“The Big Book of Kashmiri Literature”
In 1958, a Kashmiri poet who earned his living cutting timber sat down in front of a radio microphone and stumbled over a verse from a printed edition of his own work. His name was Samad Mir, and he was…“Sutra Americana” by Monona Wali
It’s not hard to picture the leap Monona Wali made from filmmaker to writer after reading her latest novel, Sutra Americana, a cinematic story of an Indian family that immigrated to the United States in the early 1960s. Continuing well…
“Oil Wars” by Guy Laron
The “wars” in the title of Guy Laron’s new history of the past century and a half are as much metaphorical as literal; few readers will need much convincing of his thesis that “energy is one of the core instruments…“The Japanese Woodblock Prints Companion” by Andreas Marks
“Under the Wave Off Kanagawa”, popularly known as “The Great Wave”, is without a doubt the most celebrated Japanese woodblock print. It is also the most recognised work of Japanese art tout court. Ask anyone with an interest in the…“Reassembling Knowledge” by Thomas Benfey
Iranian tradition held that the first, ancient dynasty of kings had mastered all the useful sciences, from astronomy to medicine, and recorded them in books of wisdom. Some claimed the prophet Zoroaster himself to be the ultimate author. These books…“Tree” by Aya Kōda
Until she was forty-three years old, Aya Kōda (1904-1990) was known primarily for being the daughter of the novelist Rohan Kōda, who was influential in the development of early modern literature in Japan. Yet after Rohan’s death, a publisher asked…“Who Owns the Past?” by Shaan Kashyap
History, or least the writing of it, does not remain confined to academia or historians; it can increasingly become a matter of public debate. When it comes to India, debates about the past can be bitter, not just in one-off…
Podcast with Hans van de Ven, “Blood Dawn”
In March 1942, Japanese troops landed on Java’s north coast and were welcomed by many of the Indonesians they had come to conquer. It’s an indication of just how much the Second World War undermined the foundations of European empire,…Podcast with Jeremy Simmons, “Sea of Treasures”
After Caesar’s assassination, the triumvirs drew up a kill list; one such target, a man named Lucius Plotius Plancus, fled to a villa near Naples and tried hiding behind a curtain. The soldiers found him anyway–thanks to his heavy perfume…Podcast with Michael Dillon, “Shanghai: The Story of China’s Most Dynamic City”
The Bund’s grand facades and the leafy streets of the former French Concession are usually read as monuments to Western enterprise in China. But those buildings were raised by Chinese labor, and the concessions that defined old Shanghai could not…Podcast with Michael Khodarkovsky, “The Steppe and Its Empires”
Winston Churchill famously called Russia “a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.” But what if the riddle is partly of our own making—the product of a habit of looking only west for answers? Michael Khodarkovsky today argues that…Podcast with Tom Feiling, “Alone in Japan: A Journey to the Future”
Japan has been aging for decades. The country’s birth rate first fell below the replacement rate in 1974, long before phrases like the “demographic transition” and the “silver economy” became commonplace. Now, with many countries rich and small staring at…
“Lion” by Tina Chang
During the Covid-19 pandemic in the United States, hate crimes against Asian American women included some particularly gruesome murders. In March 2021, a man shot and killed six Asian women at two massage parlors and a spa. In January 2022,…“In the Shade of the Green Willow” by Zhang Ruzhao
Chinese Buddhist poetry traditionally calls to mind ancient monks like Hanshan, traveling up mountains in terrible poverty. Zhang Ruzhao does not really fit into that mold. For one she was born in the turn of the 20th century, earning an…“Angel at the Earth’s Extreme” by Chūya Nakahara
The life of the Japanese poet Chūya Nakahara (generally referred to by his given name, Chūya) followed an archetypal pattern of tragic genius ending in early death. Chūya was born in 1907 and, by his own account, began writing poetry…“Cold Mountain Zen” and “The Narrow Road of Oku”
The poetic tradition of China has historically found a warm welcome in Japan, and both cultures draw on a common well of poets, religious currents, and sacred texts. It is thus fitting that two new volumes by essential poets from…“Last Day of My Face” by James Shea
James Shea, whose day job is professor at Baptist University, is something of a fixture in the Hong Kong poetry scene. His latest collection Last Day of My Face, however, is published out of Iowa University Press, a result of…
Essays, excerpts and other
Lucien Stryk Asian Translation Prize 2026
Awarded by the American Literary Translators Association (ALTA), the Lucien Stryk Asian Translation Prize recognises the importance of Asian translation for international literature and promotes the translation of Asian works into English. The $10,000 prize is named for Lucien Stryk…“Kiki and the New Magic” by Eiko Kadono
The young witch Kiki, protagonist of Eiko Kadano’s beloved Kiki’s Delivery Service, is now fourteen years old. After a quick visit at home to see her parents, she’s returning to a life she carefully built for herself in the seaside…“Voicing Aspiration” by Anaar Desai-Stephens
Excerpted from Voicing Aspiration: Bollywood Songs and Dreamwork in Contemporary India by Anaar Desai-Stephens; reprinted with permission from Wesleyan University Press. Envision a young woman in her mid-teens, so skinny and wide-eyed that she looks even younger, but right now…Women in translation month: August 2026
A compilation of reviews from the last twelve months for Women in Translation month, including fiction and non-fiction, poetry as well as novels. These include translations from Mandarin, Urdu, Malayalam, Japanese, Bengali, French, Korean, Assamese and Hindi. Click the posts…“The Frigate Novara Around the World”
This is a translated excerpt from La Fregata Novara intorno al mondo — The Frigate Novara Around the World; reprinted with permission from Salerno Editrice and set to English by the ARB’s Editor, Peter Gordon. On 24 June 1858, the…
“The Silk Road with Many Faces: Sogdian Immigrants in Early Medieval China”
The Silk Road with Many Faces focuses on a distinguished immigrant community in early medieval China (220-589 CE): the Central Asian people known as the Sogdians. Originating in present-day Uzbekistan…
“Stories from Bengal” by Rumana Yasmin
For centuries, children in Bengal have looked up at the moon and imagined Chaader Buri – the magical grandmother who spins stories from glowing moonbeam threads. Now she is ready…
“Coming of Age in Macholand” by Harjant S Gill
Through Punjabi men’s struggles to marry, migrate, love, and escape, Coming of Age in Macholand reveals what patriarchy costs the men it promises to empower. In 2019, Sandeep, a twenty-seven-year-old from…
“Battleship Yamato” by Alexander Wooley
Author Alexander Wooley explores the enduring legacy of the battleship Yamato, weaving together history, myth, and cultural impact to reveal how a wartime icon became a symbol of Japan’s identity…