
Bianca Bellová
My body is a shallow mound, is how her most famous poem began. She had written it when she was the same age as the young man who was sitting opposite her now, wanting to interview her.
My body is a shallow mound, is how her most famous poem began. She had written it when she was the same age as the young man who was sitting opposite her now, wanting to interview her.
My body is a shallow mound, is how her most famous poem began. She had written it when she was the same age as the young man who was sitting opposite her now, wanting to interview her.
Christian Dior, in his Little Dictionary of Fashion maintains that “if you have a particularly outstanding feature it is always a good thing to emphasise it. In fact the whole of fashion rests largely on emphasis.”
The teacher swung his arm to strike her once more, but it remained in mid-air, as if petrified. A blue children’s watch was engraved on his skin. And with every tick the clasp sank deeper into his flesh. They could not get it off without cutting.
It contained the body of a roughly four-year-old boy. That in itself is astounding, since we’re talking about a time frame of about twenty-four thousand years ago …
I discovered a lot of secrets, a lot of combinations, dark, political, religious, ideological, personal, to do with chess; spying, double and triple secret agents from all camps, secret police involved in dirty activities.
One of those things most difficult to convey about the special conditions in which we lived was the visegradišag: that everything, buying bread, recycling, riding the tram, came with a surreal associated cost that was impossible to anticipate …
For a moment, she wondered where all dead birds go when they die, which probably happens every minute of every hour, so really, birds should be falling from the sky not just from time to time, but raining down constantly …
A girl boarded the train. Actually, she was no longer a girl, because she was about thirty. But there was something in her behaviour and her appearance which suggested that, body aside, she was still a girl.
Vratislav Kadlec’s short story collection Hranice lesa (The Forest Boundary), from which this piece was taken, received the Magnesia Litera Award.
Paweł Sołtys is a Polish writer as well as a musician, singer and songwriter also known under his stage name, Pablopavo.
Zach Murphy is a Hawaii-born writer with a background in cinema. His debut chapbook of flash fiction is Tiny Universes.
THIRD MARRIAGE I was not invited to my father’s third marriage, but they saved me some cake, and the bride’s aunt gave me a knitted
THREE IN THE AFTERNOON I told him to meet me at three in the afternoon, a good and sensible hour. When he finally arrived, it
THE MOVEMENT Today is the first Wednesday of the month, open-door day. I show the visitors around—women, married couples, and men (more and more older
COMPANION SPECIES Every day down the same road toward Jinja Town the dog rides next to the aid worker in the company Land Rover. Sometimes
UTBURDUR Carol’s husband, Charlie, had pneumonia, but still insisted they go out and rake leaves. Charlie had always been mulish, but in old age, it
BLIND MAN (an excerpt) Thanks to the automatic system of the old days, I had been registered as a member of the Association of the
MOTH I was reborn as a moth and knew instantly that I didn’t have much time. You don’t think you’ll feel the lifespan, but you
WORLD CREATION RECIPES From Paris to Siberia, across the whole 20th century (an excerpt) 1. I want to talk about the young lady in
When the dogs had finished their business, they were, for quite some time afterward, unable to disentangle, and the Abbot asked us not to disturb them.
In the evenings Karcsi sat quietly at the table and watched his mother pray. Her lips moved silently through the rosary, and he looked as if he were trying to figure out which part of the prayer she was saying.
After the disaster, all our fears subsided, for everything was now destroyed
Life is so afflicted by clarity and definition these days that the sensations of mystery and beauty I associated with the mist are even more precious to me.
THE OLD MAN AND THE CAT There’s a square on the edge of a busy town. People go there in the late afternoon to sit
SCIENCE Picture the screen of a black and white television glowing in the corner of a dark room. A man’s face in close up.
MY BUTTON EYES I have a big head. My face is flat and doesn’t have cheeks. I have button eyes. I cannot stand on
UNTO THE THIRD GENERATION Under the grey sky, a grey village. Everything is grey: dirty snow in an empty yard, the walls of
Signs (an excerpt) On August 29th, 1646, 120 years after the Battle of Mohács, peasant Juraj Mitana was born, and on the same
A LION IN THE FOREST A forest of beech trees in late April is as neat and tidy as a newly unwrapped present. Fresh tufts
LEGEND 1. During a group therapy session for the emotionally disturbed he said that every spring, when the swallows return from the south, he
SETTING FREE I’m sitting in a gutted armchair in the middle of our dimly lit front hall, biding time. When I’m still, I
REBI I am still half-asleep in the early hours when I hear sirens approaching the farm and it occurs to me that it’s
BILLIARDS AT THE HOTEL DOBRAY (an excerpt) Billiards at the Hotel Dobray A novel by Dušan Šarotar Translated from the Slovene by Rawley Grau
HONEY, I KILLED THE CATS (an excerpt) Honey, I Killed The Cats A novel by Dorota Masłowska Translated from the Polish by Benjamin Paloff
THE QUEEN AND HER SECRET Through the narrow opening of the door that was ajar, Gina noticed the bluish eye, the arched eyebrow,
FASHION AND FRIENDS The two of you stand in front of the fitting room, he has a pair of trousers in each hand
NEW YEAR’S DAY I’ve never spent a New Year’s Eve like this before. Without going out. Just lying under the comforter without having the
MY GRANDFATHER’S MEMORY My grandfather invented a famous memory. It was the result of long years of hard struggle and more than a little
SINGER IN THE NIGHT (an excerpt) Singer in the Night A novel by Olja Savičević Translated from the Croatian by Celia
DOGS AND OTHERS (An excerpt) Dogs and Others A novel by Biljana Jovanović Translated from the Serbian by John K. Cox Published
Rushian Clashics (an excerpt) Introduction I first encountered Rushian clashics five years ago, at a time when much less was being written
CATECHISM Samuel scanned the café, barely aware of its coffee aroma. His facial analysis software said everyone was full-bred white, straight, and gender
DOPPELGÄNGER (an excerpt) Doppelgänger A novel by Daša Drndić Translated from the Croatian by Celia Hawkesworth and Susan Curtis Published by Istros Books It is
THE BLUE CIRCLE COLLECTOR It was a Wednesday when a pot bellied mustached man with beady eyes walked into the Registry Office 3
THE EGAN RABBIT Meander Casey leaned against the side of The Egan Rabbit, a downtown warehouse converted into a space for small shows
THE RETURN OF THE KING OF THE BOHEMIAN FOREST (an excerpt) CHARLES ECKERT stands by an open window in the office of the
FLEETING SNOW (an excerpt) Fleeting Snow A novel by Pavel Vilikovský Translated from the Slovak by Julia and Peter Sherwood Published by
TERMINUS There was one day that Ashok was caught in a bind, the last time he had taken a train in India. He’d
SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS (an excerpt) Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals A novel by J. R. Pick
MOSCOW II. Read part one of Moscow here I’m sitting on the toilet staring at the pink bathroom. The reason it’s pink
DJELEM DJELEM MALEM Malem carried his axe door to door, cutting firewood every fall. They say he never parted from it, not even
PLACES THAT ARE NOT ON THE MAP (an excerpt) The clock dial on a shelf above the table showed 8:30pm, but it
SHOULDER BIRD This new patient was an eccentric, there was no question. She was nuts, but in a pleasant way. Her nuttiness involved
THE 8TH DISTRICT OF GOD (excerpts) The location is the outer 8th district of Budapest, which is called Józsefváros (Josephtown). This is
MOSCOW I. Read part two of Moscow here “Do you know anything about her?” I ask the friend of my little sister
THE SCENT OF PERFECTION In which the Book is introduced to the reader, some sacred texts are discussed, and there begins the story
BANANA SPLIT With the leftover beer I washed down two pills. I took Xanax to help me sleep. The first few weeks it
PAPER PLANES The writer bought a literary magazine, leafed through it, and was gratified: he hadn’t submitted anything and none of his work had
BANNER As usual, John Gozdzik, manager of the bus station in Slonim, did not have too much to do in his office around
THREE PLASTIC ROOMS (an excerpt) Three Plastic Rooms A novel by Petra Hůlová Translated from the Czech by Alex Zucker Published by
COMING HOME 05:05 am. My eyes open. A faint pearly blade of light squeezing past the blind. The distant metallic scrape of a
FOX SEASON Fox Season and Other Short Stories Short Stories by Agnieszka Dale Published by Jantar Publishing Permission to Bow Like all
FEBO WAITED FOR A PENCIL Febo could not have realized the truth that accompanied his words or that went out before them like
CHILDREN OF OUR AGE (an excerpt) Children of Our Age A novel by A.M. Bakalar Published by Jantar Publishing There
THE HOUSE OF REMEMBERING AND FORGETTING (an excerpt) The House of Remembering and Forgetting A novel by Filip David Translated from the
THE TRAGIC FATE OF MORITZ TOTH (an excerpt) The Tragic Fate of Moritz Toth A novel by Dana Todorović Translated from the
FEAR AND HIS SERVANT Fear and his Servant A novel by Mirjana Novaković Translated from the Serbian by Terence McEneny Published by
Ever read The Lord of the Rings? I knew it! You look like a reader, you have that kind of face. … So alright, then, listen to my story all the way through, and you’ll catch on. You’ll understand that I couldn’t have done any different.
THE GOOD COUPLE We are aware the ugly sounds coming from us may be overheard by the good couple next door. There is
MOMI Momi was born such an extraordinary beauty that, upon her delivery, the doctor grappled her tightly in his arms and ran around
BIRDCAGE This evening, too, she goes out onto the small balcony and watches the shared yard. One step through the glass door, and
CROATIAN WAR NOCTURNAL (an excerpt) Croatian War Nocturnal A novel by Spomenka Štimec Translated from the Esperanto by Sebastian Schulman Published by Phoneme Media
HIPSTERS AT AN EXHIBITION “If we all had our middle fingers removed, would there be anything left to say?” It is the vernissage
LISTENING AT THE EDGES 1. I hid in the church after they left. Some of the stained glass had been broken, and the
ABSOLUTION (an excerpt) Absolution A novel by Aleš Šteger Translated from the Slovene by Urška Charney and Noah Charney Published by Istros
MY NAME IS PAULA (an excerpt) She picked out photos from albums and peeled them off their pages. She spread them out
I’m ashamed to admit I had acted under the pressure of circumstance, and the whole thing happened purely by chance. I’d much prefer to think it had all been predestined a long time ago, because inevitability is a great excuse for actions even more cruel than those I’m about to describe.
AS CLOSE AS WE’LL EVER GET The Razi family over the Atlantic: we fill the middle section of a ten-seat row somewhere along
HAIR EVERYWHERE (an excerpt) Hair Everywhere A novel by Tea Tulić Translated from the Croatian by Coral Petkovich Published by Istros Books
THE CONSPIRACY (excerpt) The Conspiracy A novel by Israel Centeno Translated from the Spanish by Guillermo Parra Published by Phoneme Media
THE LAST SUMMER The Last Summer A novel by Ricarda Huch Translated from the German by Jamie Bulloch Published by Peirene Press
ISRAEL, 2014 The woman all this happened to, whose name is – let’s say – Dahlia, is thirty-two. She has a five year old
PARTS OF TOWN “Put the leash on me so I can take you out for a bit,” Hans told me. Hans is a
IVAN YAKOVLIVICH ANTONOV’S CAREER This thing had happened still before the revolution. One merchant woman yawned, and a cuckoo bird flew into her
FOUR ILLUSTRATIONS OF HOW A NEW CONCEPT ASTOUNDS A PERSON WHO ISN’T READY FOR IT WRITER: I am a writer! READER: Аnd I
THE STILLNESS They were mesmerizing from the first moment, like seeing hoarfrost on a window backlit by sunlight. And like hoarfrost, their actions,
RESTING PLACE Great and mighty is the River Ob. Swollen with long years of experience, it flows sedately, without haste, as if it
THE CREMATOR (an excerpt) The Cremator A novel by Ladislav Fuks Translated from the Czech by Eva M. Kandler Published by Karolinum Press
MONSIEUR DE BOUGRELON (an excerpt) Monsieur de Bougrelon A novel by Jean Lorrain Translated from the French by Eva Richter Published by Spurl
DARK LOVE (an excerpt) Someone inside of me feels the need to repeat the painful experience overwhelming me— dirty sister of dirty
LITTLE ANGEL It’s strange when somebody calls you ‘their little Angel’ as you lie on two armchairs put together because when they brought
THE TALE OF AYPI (an excerpt) II. According to legend, some 300 years ago a group of strange men from unknown lands came
HER FATHER’S DAUGHTER (an excerpt) Her Father’s Daughter A novel by Marie Sizun Translated from the French by Adriana Hunter Published by Peirene
PHRASES: SIX FILMS Germany Nine Zero (an excerpt) TOPOGRAPHY OF TERROR was haben sie gesucht ideen oder gefühle I don’t
MIDWAY UPON THE JOURNEY OF OUR LIFE (an excerpt) Midway Upon the Journey of Our Life A novel by Josef Jedlička Translated
QUIET FLOWS THE UNA (an excerpt) Hypnosis Sometimes I’m not me, I’m Gargano. He, that other, is the real me: the one from
TOLA “I don’t believe my Antoś is dead,” Grandma said. Kitchen full of black aunties sighed, outraged with Grandma’s lack of respect for
Honey Thieves (an excerpt) I’d like to draw a parallel between the nascent Kingdom of Hungary and the passionate lovemaking of frenzied
IVA She was pathetic. I was so much more sophisticated. I couldn’t help sneering at her. I said: “My God, to be with
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