Nancy Naomi Carlson

Nancy Naomi Carlson, poet and translator, received an NEA fellowship to translate Mabanckou’s poetry. The New York Times called her latest collection “new and noteworthy.”

As Long as Trees Take Root in the Earth by Alain Mabanckou

By Alain Mabanckou

May 2022
Alain Mabanckou

London. Seagull Books. 2021. 124 pages. ALAIN MABANCKOU, a native of the Congo and a longtime professor at UCLA, is one of the world’s leading francophone authors. If...
Cargo Hold of Stars: Coolitude by Khal Torabully

By Khal Torabully

Spring 2021
Khal Torabully

Kolkata. Seagull Books. 2021. 200 pages. THROUGH NANCY NAOMI CARLSON’S translation of the French original, anglophone readers finally have access to Khal Torabully’s groundbreaking po...
Two Francophone Poems

By Alain Mabanckou

Summer 2020
Alain Mabanckou

Photo: Glenn Ruben Berg / Unsplash [draw your strength] draw your strength from the lifeless leaf break all bonds until you can tie your fate to the baobab trunk don’t hold within yourself...
The Dancing Other by Suzanne Dracius

By Suzanne Dracius

Spring 2019
Suzanne Dracius

Calcutta. Seagull Books. 2018. 256 pages. Who am I? And who are you? Suzanne Dracius explores identity in her recently translated novel, The Dancing Other. First published in French as L’...
Three Poems

By Khal Torabully

Winter 2019
Khal Torabully

Photo: Michael Olsen/Unsplash [Carry my metaphor] Carry my metaphor; I touched the sea before waves deceived me. Carry my dream; I saw it all without opening eyes of salt. Carry my soul; I met...