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We're pleased to share an exclusive extract from our interview with Cristina Rivera Garza and Sarah Booker, published in our latest issue, Wasafiri 113. In this conversation led and introduced by Sohini Basak, Rivera Garza talks about the power of poetry, the shared rootedness of reading…

In this profound essay in fragments, Wasafiri's Writer-in-Residence Durre Shahwar explores the slipperiness of language, and the 'missed connections within or due to language'; learning Urdu, and how the 'hand movement of writing Urdu is akin to drawing'; and translation:

In this exclusive piece, Leila Aboulela, Fiction judge for the 2023 Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize, looks back to the beginning of her writing life – including her long relationship and publication history with Wasafiri – and considers the intrigue of the lingering image, offering writing advice to potential prize entrants. 

Wasafiri is pleased to publish the pieces shortlisted for the 2022 Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize. The poems, essays and short stories in this series showcase the best new writing from the best new writers across the globe — in all their diversity and complexity.

Ever wondered what your favourite writer’s first drafts look like? Or which book they love that nobody’s heard of?  Wasafiri Wonders is a series that asks these questions for you.

Wasafiri is pleased to publish the pieces shortlisted for the 2022 Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize. The poems, essays, and short stories in this series showcase the best new writing from the best new writers across the globe – in all their diversity and complexity.

In this exclusive extract from 'Season' by Rebecca Tamás, a slow, moving meditation on ritual and the nonhuman life which opens our spring issue, Wasafiri 113, we see the seasons change – from spring to summer – during the early days of the pandemic.

Wasafiri is pleased to publish the pieces shortlisted for the 2022 Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize. The poems, essays, and short stories in this series showcase the best new writing from the best new writers across the globe – in all their diversity and complexity.

In these two poems from Rakhshan Rizwan's debut collection Europe, Love Me Back (The Emma Press), the poet probes ideas of systemic racism in academia and unbelonging with an unerringly sharp eye for language and imagery.

In this exclusive extract from Wasafiri 112: Reimagining Education, Angelique Golding talks with poet and playwright Inua Ellams on adapting Chekhov's Three Sisters for the National Theatre and in the context of the Biafran War, his Hausa heritage, the curriculum and his ‘cultural touchstones’, and more.

In this essay, Stephanie Sy-Quia reflects on the five languages in her family, learning and un-learning language…

Wasafiri is pleased to publish the pieces shortlisted for the 2022 Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize. The poems, essays, and short stories in this series showcase the best new writing from the best new writers across the globe – in all their diversity and complexity.

In this exclusive extract from Wasafiri 112: Reimagining Education, Kavita Bhanot writes about Sathnam Sanghera’s much-lauded book, Empireland: How Imperialism Has Shaped Modern Britain, and questions what kind of 'decolonising' work the book is really doing by offering what she terms as a 'balanced' history of of the violence and exploitation of empire.

In this sharp, rhythmic poem from Naomi Foyle, a catalogue of items serves to dissect a long legacy of colonialism and racism, and challenges the inherent violence in the ways we archive and perpetuate the British Empire.

Read this exclusive extract from Jade E Bradford's short story 'Trouble', first published in Wasafiri 112: Reimagining Education, which paints a startling and empathic portrait of the systemic racism and oppression embedded in educational systems, with blunt, evocative prose.

In this passionate and joyful article – accompanied by a poem from her debut collection Cane, Corn & Gully – poet, dancer, and choreographer Safiya Kamaria Kinshasa explores her experience teaching writing through movement, and the complicated nuances of Barbadian culture and identity. The text is a celebration of learning, listening, and moving as a community.

In this exclusive extract from Wasafiri 112: Reimagining Education, Sita Balani considers the dissonance of the university's role in authoritarian nationalism and simultaneous embrace of the language of ‘decolonisation'.

In this quietly devastating poem, Vasiliki Albedo effortlessly crafts a narrative of domestic tension, inspired and informed by one of van Gogh's paintings. Together, Albedo blurs memory and art to deliver a striking, painful portrait of childhood.

In this exclusive extract from Wasafiri 111: Translating Lives, Jennifer Wong interviews fellow poet Will Harris on his debut collection RENDANG, and the craft, experiences, and ideas that went into writing it. You can read the full excerpt in Wasafiri 111.

In this extract from 'Islam and Me', written and translated by Shirin Ramzanali Fazel with assistance from Simone Brioni, the author reckons with Italy's systemic racism, and her experiences with family, assimilation culture, and immigration.

In these two bilingual poems, Reem Abbas probes notions of language, family, and voice. Elegant and rhythmic, Abbas makes use of the gaps between words and worlds, raising questions of home and remembrance. 

Read an exclusive extract from Chinmay Sharma's short story 'Hostile Environment', a meditation on distance, relationships and love. You can read the full excerpt in Wasafiri 111: Translating Lives, now available to download or purchase online.

In this visual essay, including exclusive photos, Olga U Herrera explores the work of Wendy Nanan, and her dedication to capturing the nuances of her own life and the world around her.

In this extract from Amal Sewtohul’s Made in Mauritius, translated from French by Nadiyah Abdullatif, the narrator explores his complex heritage, and the lineage of his father, an worker from China, who would eventually make his way to Mauritius.