Saving Roald Dahl’s Cabin

For the Geo Quiz, we’re meandering in the English countryside, looking for a famous shed. The cabin in question belonged to writer Roald Dahl

Young Haitian writers look to the future

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The World’s Jeb Sharp visits a youth writing group in Port-au-Prince formed in the wake of last year’s earthquake. They call themselves the Konbit des Jeunes Penseurs or The Gathering of Young Thinkers. They meet weekly, salon-style, to read Haitian literature and share their own writings and talk about a new way forward for Haiti. Download MP3
Website for the Gathering of Young Thinkers
Read and listen to Assephie Petit-Frere’s poem here

World Books Debate: The Best Translated Book Awards

Here’s the 25 book long list of the fiction finalists for the 2011 Best Translated Book Awards for listeners and readers to comment on, augment, and generally kick around. The point of the BTBA is not simply to recognized high merit (in fiction and poetry), but to expand the consciousness of the reading public. This is one of the few prizes in the country that honors original works in translation; at the very least, it should stimulate conversation about the importance (and neglect) of literature in translation.
What do you think?

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• Bill Marx’s Arts Fuse magazine

Nadeem Aslam – writing about Pakistan

We rarely get a glimpse into real life in Pakistan. One way to do that is through writing. Nadeem Aslam was born in Pakistan and moved with his family to England when he was fourteen. He has since written three novels in English. The World’s Carol Zall spoke with him about his work and has this profile. Download MP3
Audio Extra: Nadeem Aslam reads from ‘Leila in the Wilderness’

World Books Review: David Grossman’s Lost Faith

In his most recent collection of essays on the intersection of politics and literature, Israeli novelist David Grossman fears his country is losing its soul, its cultural responses are hardening, its spiritual resources weakening dangerously.

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World Books Review: The Mad Bad Moralist

The collection’s choice of writings by the late 18th century Teutonic bad boy Heinrich von Kleist is streamlined, yet carefully balanced, giving readers a neatly packed sampling of his necessary lunacy, narrative brilliance, and the far-reaching vision that influenced Freud, Thomas Mann, and Franz Kafka.

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World Books Podcast: Sefi Atta

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In Africa and Europe, Nigerian writer Sefi Atta’s reputation is stellar. Her novel “Everything Good Will Come” won the Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature. And her recently published collection of short stories. “News From Home,” garnered the 2009 NOMA Award for Publishing. But she has yet to garner the critical attention she deserves in America, though she has lived in Mississippi for over a decade. Bill Marx spoke to Atta about what roles religion and feminism play in her fiction and why her complex vision of Africa defies popular expectations. Download MP3

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World Books Review: Mao and the Chess Master

In one of the novellas in this fine, powerful collection, acclaimed Chinese writer Ah Cheng probes chess much as the best of Western writers have. What’s more, these stories, which first appeared in the mid-1980s, changed the course of his country’s literature by challenging Maoist conformity.

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The sweet smell of literature

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In the not too distant future the majority of readers might read their books electronically, on Kindles, iPads, and the like. In the meantime, though, the paper kind populates bookstores and libraries. And the older a book is, the smellier it is. The World’s Alex Gallafent explores those odors for us. Download MP3 (Photo: Alex Gallafent)

• Photo gallery
• Stories by Alex Gallafent on The World
• World Books with Bill Marx

World Books Review: ‘The Changeling’

At its best, the Japanese Nobel Laureate’s latest novel dwells on the odd intricacy of a long-running traumatized relationship, which is equal parts love, jealousy, and sexual tension.

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Ludmilla Petrushevskaya

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For decades, the writer Ludmilla Petrushevskaya was banned in the Soviet Union. She wrote stories about domestic despair and Soviet censors demanded optimism. Petrushevskaya’s writing was just too dark, but today she’s a living legend in Russia. She recently visited New York City and sang for an audience of Russian émigrés. Kiera Feldman reports. Download MP3

• The Fountain House by Ludmilla Petrushevskaya

The Larsson inheritance

The family of Swedish crime author Stieg Larsson, who died before his “Millennium” trilogy became a cult hit, has offered Larsson’s partner a settlement to end a dispute over his inheritance, the Swedish daily Svenska Dagbladet reported. The “Millennium” trilogy has become a worldwide phenomenon. Marco Werman speaks with Swedish journalist Martin Jönsson about the controversy in today’s show. (Audio available after 5PM Eastern)

• Coverage in the Guardian newspaper
• Stieg Larsson on Amazon

German author wins Nobel

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Herta Müller has been awarded the Nobel prize for literature. The Romanian born author is renowned for her books based on life under the harsh regime of the dictator Ceausescu. Müller was born in 1953 in the German-speaking town of Nitzkydorf in Romania. Jeb Sharp profiles the German author. Download MP3

• BBC profile
• Nobelprize.org

‘Blood Safari’

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Marco Werman talks with our book critic Christopher Merrill about a new novel called “Blood Safari” from South African writer Deon Meyer. Download MP3

• Book info
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Strength in What Remains

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Download MP3
Anchor Jeb Sharp speaks with Pulitzer-Prize winning author Tracy Kidder about his newest novel, Strength in What Remains, the true story of a man who survived the ethnic violence between Burundi and Rwanda and managed to find his way to the United States.

Click here for more information about the book.

Here’s a short video of a part of the interview:

An Interview with Author Tracy Kidder from Clark Boyd on Vimeo.