Trafika Europe 5 - Slovenian Interlude

Books as we are going to press; you’ll find a generous

preview here. Poems from the wonderful Barbara Pogačnik

round out our Slovenian literary focus. The artwork inside

(and on the cover of) this issue is all from the painfully-

delighted Slovenian graphic novel,

Balkanalia

, by Samira

Kentrić. In pictures and text, she traces her family’s journey

from Soviet Socialism, through the violent breakup of

Yugoslavia, the rise of nationalisms and consumer culture –

all amidst the defiant sweetness of basic authentic living.

Other cultures represented in this issue include, from

Norway, Gøhril Gabrielsen’s

The Looking-Glass Sisters,

taut new work of northern sibling tensions, just out from

Peirene Press. On the occasion of Nobel Laureate Tomas

Tranströmer’s passing earlier this year, we’ve got a sublime

selection of poems re-translated from Swedish by Patty

Crane, from Sarabande Books’ forthcoming volume

, Bright

Scythe

. Following that,

Seven Tales of Loss from Turkey

is a

delicate survey of emotions never far from the surface, in

seven short pieces from Turkish writer Aylin Graves. And

there’s new poetry from one of Hungary’s more sensitive

living poets, Gábor Schein.

Europe is grappling with some formative challenges to its

identity these days. We’ve got new structural developments

planned for

Trafika Europe

too, as we navigate this

fascinating landscape of contemporary European literature.

So please follow us on

and

and stay with

us as we continue this adventure. Thanks, and enjoy!