World Fiction Special - Exquisite short stories

A note from the editor

Chris Brazier

Stories that surprise

This issue of New Internationalist is rather different from the magazine you normally expect, in that its central section is devoted to four short stories. There is one from each of the anthologies of stories from around the world that we have published over the past year: Cooked Up, a lively compilation of fiction with food-related themes; Water, a new collection from Short Story Day Africa; The Daily Assortment of Astonishing Things and Other Stories, the latest anthology of the prestigious Caine Prize for African Writing; and One World Two, a follow-up to our successful book One World in which the writers’ geographical origins and cultural perspectives are even more diverse. The stories we have chosen are by: Krys Lee from South Korea; FT Kola from South Africa; the Cuban-American Ana Menéndez; and Efemia Chela, who hails from Zambia and Ghana. They can be seen as part of a new kind of ‘world writing’ that is emerging in the 21st century and are introduced by a conversation with Professor Elleke Boehmer of Oxford University – herself an acclaimed novelist – who explains how stories such as these are breaking down national and literary boundaries.

Also in this issue, we welcome back popular contributor Maria Golia for a one-off letter from Cairo, and turn the spotlight on President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines.

Chris Brazier for the New Internationalist co-operative.
www.newint.org

The big story

Unlikely godmother: Beyoncé, seen here performing ’Freedom‘ in California, has helped some African writers to reach a wider audience. Danny Moloshok / Reuters

Unlikely godmother: Beyoncé, seen here performing ’Freedom‘ in California, has helped some African writers to reach a wider audience.

Danny Moloshok / Reuters

What exactly is ‘world fiction’?

Chris Brazier interviews Elleke Boehmer, Professor of World Literature in English at Oxford University.

Buy this magazine



Features

Illustration: Jackie Morris

Ghosts

The suicide of a Cuban immigrant to Florida calls up all kinds of phantoms for Anna, herself a migrant from the Czech Republic. By Ana Menéndez.

Buy this magazine

Illustrated by Jenny Reynish

In The Garden

A eunuch scribe at the ancient Egyptian court in Alexandria witnesses a pivotal moment in the life of his young princess, Cleopatra. Written by FT Kola.

Buy this magazine

Illustration: Dominic Bugatto / Three in a Box

Fat

A young South Korean‘s attempts to avoid conscription by becoming obese cause uproar in his family. Written by Krys Lee.

Buy this magazine

Illustration: Eleanor Taylor

The Lake Retba Murder (Le Meurtre au Lac Rose)

Roberto comes across a body in the lake and feels compelled to investigate – but all his lover Mireille seems to want is sex. Written by Efemia Chela.

Buy this magazine

Windows on the world

Windows on the world

New Internationalist’s featured world fiction titles

Buy this magazine


Opinion

Bosom buddies: Hillary Clinton's cosy relationship with Henry Kissinger is nothing to laugh about.Photo: REUTERS/Alamy Stock Photo

Kissinger is not our friend

The former US Secretary of State endorsed human rights violations in Bangladesh, Cambodia and Argentina, yet Hillary Clinton calls him 'a friend'.

Read this article

Proud to preach

When the news seems ridiculous and shocking, we need competence to fill faith gap it creates, writes Chris Coltrane.

Buy this magazine


Agenda

Thwe Thwe Win walks to her farm near the copper mine in Burma. Photo: Lauren DeCicca/Front Line Defenders

Land defenders step up in Burma

Caught between a growing economy and the peace process, farmers' land rights are being left behind, writes Erin Kildride.

Buy this magazine

Trouble in the pipeline

Trouble in the pipeline

Bringing gas from Azerbaijan to Europe, the Southern Gas Corridor would fortify Baku's autocratic regime, says Ido Liven.

Buy this magazine

Cornish resurgence

Cornish resurgence

The UK government has cut funds to Kernewek, the Cornish language, but residents are fighting back. Amy Hall reports.

Buy this magazine

Photo: Neil Hall/PA Wire/Press Association Images

Introducing Theresa May

What to expect from the United Kingdom's new Prime Minister: tough times for the environment, some elitism and clashes with Scotland. By Richard Swift.

Buy this magazine

Pride under pressure in Uganda

Pride under pressure in Uganda

The Ugandan LGBT community is under shock after police raided the Ugandan Pride Week, reports Jess Worth.

Buy this magazine

Street art in Oaxaca city centre showing President Peña Nieto shooting a high-calibre weapon.Photo: María De Vecchi Gerli

Mexican teachers fight on

Federal police use firearms on protesting dissident teachers organizing a blockade, killing eight and injuring over 100. By María De Vecchi Gerli and Jen Wilton.

Buy this magazine

Life in limbo in Israel

Life in limbo in Israel

Inside the Holot Detention Facility, where Israel keeps Eritrean and Sudanese asylum seekers captive, by Megan Hanna.

Buy this magazine

Bangladesh's smashing pumpkins

Bangladesh's smashing pumpkins

Bangladeshi farmers employ a new tool in their struggle against poverty and climate change... pumpkins. Kelsi Farrington reports.

Buy this magazine

Dam fine victory in Brazil

Dam fine victory in Brazil

How the Mundukuru people won their battle to cancel plans for a massive new dam in the Amazon.

Buy this magazine

Photo: Gistmania.com

Reasons to be cheerful

A refugee running for president; Uruguay wins against Philip Morris; US ends private prisons.

Buy this magazine


Regulars

Letters

Praise, blame and all points in between? Give us your feedback.

Read this article

Illustration: Sarah John

The sum of our disappointments

In Cairo, normality is something of a heroic enterprise, Maria Golia explains.

Buy this magazine

Open Window: Aleppo

Open Window: Aleppo

Vasco Gargalo from Portugal with ‘Aleppo’

Buy this magazine

Scratchy Lines: Our leaders

The latest cartoon by Simon Kneebone.

Buy this magazine

Clockwise from top left: Portrait of a boy from San Nicolas, to the west of Santa Barbara; an orphan from San Pedro Sula, holding photos of his parents; young footballers, also from San Pedro Sula, representing various health threats; children and cows picking through a rubbish dump in the capital, Tegucigalpa; and the cook is Elvira Garcia, from the indigenous Maya Chorti community in Copan province, bordering Guatemala.Photos by Giacomo Pirozzi / Panos Pictures.

Country Profile: Honduras

Hondurans are not searching for the American Dream, they are fleeing from the nightmare of violence and repression in their country.

Buy this magazine

Photo: REUTERS/Alamy Stock Photo

Worldbeaters: Rodrigo Duterte

The president of the Philippines he may be, but his reputation is as a Dirty Harry of vigilante politics.

Buy this magazine

Photo:  NG Images / Alamy Stock Photo

And finally... Toni Myers

Training astronauts to shoot film? All in a day's work for the Canadian documentary filmmaker, writes Cristiana Moisescu.

Buy this magazine


Film, Book & Music Reviews

Mixed media: Films

Mixed media: Films

The Clan, directed and co-written by Pablo Trapero; Urban Hymn, directed by Michael Caton-Jones.

Buy this magazine

Mixed Media: Music

Mixed Media: Music

Amerli by Refugees for Refugees and Anda by Melingo.

Buy this magazine

Mixed Media: Books

Mixed Media: Books

The Caliphate, Red Ellen, Eve out of Her Ruins, and 'Migrant, refugee, smuggler, saviour' reviewed in this month's New Internationalist magazine.

Buy this magazine


Back