Tell Me Please, What's the Matter?

<b>Curated from the archives of <i>World Literature Today</i>, this landmark anthology celebrates a century of exploration through pen and ink, and reimagines what international readership can be.</b><br><p>From Nobel laureates to dissident authors, iconic mainstays to extraordinary newcomers, this global chorus of fiction, essays, poetry, and critique is a testament to the ways in which stories cross borders, bridge histories, and shape futures. With contributions by Octavio Paz, Elie Wiesel, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, Toni Morrison, Dubravka Ugresic, and many others, <i>A Compass On the Navigable Sea</i> spans genre, time, and location to ask: What can literature do in a time of crisis?</p><p></p>

Acevedo, Mario

<p>Every beginning requires a kind of courage - the willingness to move toward something not yet fully formed - and to trust an idea before knowing where it will lead. This inaugural issue, Beginnings, </em> is grounded in a single, unwavering belief - that it is worth starting something before you feel ready. These beginnings are not small acts. They are, we think, necessary and revolutionary ones.</p><p></p><p>Within these pages, you will find beginnings in all their forms. Some unfold as moments of change, others as acts of return. First times and last times. Taking a chance, letting go, trying something new. They reflect the many ways beginnings take shape, often subtle, often uncertain, and rarely as simple as they may at first appear.</p><p></p><p>This anthology was created as a deliberate act of slowing down. In a world that rewards speed, we wanted to make something to sit with. To peruse is to move with intention rather than urgency, and that is the spirit in which every page here was shaped. These words are not for skimming. They are for lingering, revisiting, reading twice.</p><p></p><p>We are grateful to the writers and artists who trusted us with their work without knowing us, and to the many beginnings that brought these pieces into being. This issue marks the start of a community dedicated to supporting writers and building a space for bold and honest work.</p><p></p><p>Editors - Nel Herche, and Mya Brown, Elisabeth Connell, Mya Guardino, Shelby Rodger</p><p>Contributors - Jane Corbett, Heng Jonho, Yen Ooi and Antheia, Anne McPherson Arthurs, Faith-Anne Bell, D C Boyle, Mario Duarte, Donald Reed Greenwood, Nicholas Grooms, Gail Grycel, Nel Herche, Paul Hilding, Hannah Janssen, Sheyna ZL, David Anson Lee, Daniel Miltz, George Oliver, Julie Wittes Schlack, Kathy Sherban, Marc Simon, Tim Thornburgh, Peterson Toscano, Lynn White, Christopher Woods</p><p></p>

Tracy, Tom

<p>This poignant collection of essays, poetry, and artwork invites readers to reconsider what it means to wait. We all know the small, everyday waits-waiting for a plane to arrive, the workday to end, or a doctor to open the exam room door. But the writers, poets and artists in this collection explore this everyday human experience- at once universal and wholly unique-- in deeper and varied ways.</p><p></p><p>They write about waiting for a loved one to succumb to a terminal illness&#x3b; waiting for heartbreak to soften&#x3b; waiting for a child to grow up-and then wishing they were small again.</p><p></p><p>Throughout the book, the theme of gardening emerges as a quiet metaphor for hope and patience. What will grow? And when?</p><p></p><p>These twenty-nine contributors capture the essence of waiting through varied lenses and, ultimately, remind us: there can be richness and growth in the stillness, in the space that lives between the now and what comes next.</p>

<p>This poignant collection of essays, poetry, and artwork invites readers to reconsider what it means to wait. We all know the small, everyday waits-waiting for a plane to arrive, the workday to end, or a doctor to open the exam room door. But the writers in this collection take waiting much deeper.</p><p></p><p>They write about waiting for a loved one to succumb to a terminal illness&#x3b; waiting for heartbreak to soften&#x3b; waiting for a child to grow up-and then wishing they were small again.</p><p></p><p>Throughout the book, the theme of gardening emerges as a quiet metaphor for hope and patience. Should I plant now, or should I wait? I've been waiting so long for these flowers to bloom-maybe they never will.</p><p></p><p>The contributors include award-winning writers and artists, New York Times bestselling authors, and voices whose work has appeared in a variety of publications, exhibits and collections.</p>