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Words Without Borders

GUEST HOST: KATE BURTON

Description

Guest host Kate Burton presents three stories in translation that were featured on a program in collaboration with the international literary organization Words Without Borders. A wealthy woman winds up on the other side of the poverty line in Évelyne Trouillot’s “Detour,” performed by Rita Wolf and Arian Moayed. The story was introduced by Siri Hustvedt, who talks about how stories can enable readers to cross boundaries too. A civil servant becomes a soccer star in Reka Man-Varhegyi’s playful, but political, "Woman Striker Has Killer Left Foot,” performed by Adina Verson. Karan Mahajan introduces our final tale,“Muzaffer and Bananas” by Yalçın Tosun. He praises its sympathetic depiction of the friendship between two teenage misfits on their way to visit a chimp.The story was performed by Arian Moayed.

These stories were translated into English by Paul Curtis Daw ("Detour"), Owen Good ("Woman Striker Has Killer Left Foot"), and Abby Comstock-Gay ("Muzaffar and Bananas").

Founded in 2003, Words Without Borders expands cultural understanding through the translation, publication, and promotion of the finest contemporary international literature. Our publications and programs open doors for readers of English around the world to the multiplicity of viewpoints, richness of experience, and literary perspective on world events offered by writers in other languages. We seek to connect international writers to the general public, to students and educators, and to the media and to serve as a primary online location for a global literary conversation. Visit their website at https://www.wordswithoutborders.org/

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