Top Reads 2018 | Poetry
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In Conversation
Louise Kennedy & Sarah Moss
Two Ireland-based writers discussing national identity, disappointing holidays and art deco china.
Gororau (Borderlands)
Elizabeth O’Connor
‘Tad took down any picture of Mam the week after she died. He said they would bring bad luck to the house.’
A story set in rural Wales.
Unbury Our Dead with Song
Mũkoma Wa Ngũgĩ
A Kenyan journalist falls in love with the Tizita, popularly called Ethiopian blues, in this extract from Mũkoma Wa Ngũgĩ’s new novel.
The Disappearance of Mumma Dell
Roland Watson-Grant
Winner of the Commonwealth Writers Short Story Prize for the region of the Caribbean
In Conversation
Natasha Brown & Victoria Adukwei Bulley
A discussion about exhaustion, refusal and the beginner’s mindset.
Comrade Aeon’s Field Guide to Bangkok
Emma Larkin
‘Comrade Aeon had been changed by his years in the jungle.’
My Father’s Lover Was Never the Stepdad I Wanted Him to Be
Isabel Waidner
A letter to footballer Justin Fashanu – excerpted from Isabel Waidner’s novel Sterling Karat Gold.
Turnstones
Carol Farrelly
Winner of the Commonwealth Writers Short Story Prize from the region of Canada and Europe.
Two Poems
Tayi Tibble
Poetry from Tayi Tibble’s new collection Rangikura, available now from Victoria University Press.
I Cleaned the –
Kanya D’Almeida
Overall winner of the 2021 Commonwealth Writers Short Story Prize, as well as winner for the region of Asia.
Conversations
Natasha Brown
‘My mother was always telling me over the phone about people who had recently died.’
An excerpt from Natasha Brown’s debut novel.
Exit Father
Mai Nardone
‘He was a tossed coin, two faces alternating to catch the light.’
A story by Mai Nardone.
The Great Mistake
Jonathan Lee
‘The first attempt on the life of Andrew Green had occurred on Thanksgiving Day in 1873.’
An excerpt from the new novel by Jonathan Lee.
Granddaughter of the Octopus
Rémy Ngamije
Winner of the Commonwealth Writers Short Story Prize for the region of Africa.
People Who Live Here
Holly Pester
‘Another man dithering around six foot two had recently moved in.’
A story by Holly Pester, author of Comic Timing.
The Woman in the Purple Skirt
Natsuko Imamura
An excerpt from The Woman in the Purple Skirt, which won the 2019 Akutagawa Prize.
Breast or Tooth?
Tishani Doshi
‘A breast just casually hanging around, being a functional exocrine gland, enjoying the sun? Impossible.’
Tishani Doshi on women’s rights in India.
Notes on Craft
Kjersti A. Skomsvold
Kjersti A. Skomsvold on writing The Child, a book on motherhood and grief.
Notes on Craft
Jonathan Lee
The author of The Great Mistake discusses the importance of opening lines.
Dead Souls
Sam Riviere
‘The uproar was immediate. Criticism and condemnation rose on all sides.’
Sam Riviere on publishing’s deal souls.
The Child
Kjersti A. Skomsvold
Translated from the Norwegian by Martin Aitken, an excerpt from The Child by Kjersti A. Skomsvold.
If You Kept a Record of Sins
Andrea Bajani
‘It’s like a second gestation, like entering the world a second time.’
An excerpt from Andrea Bajani’s novel If You Kept a Record of Sins, available from Archipelago Books. Translated from the Italian by Elizabeth Harris.
Second Place
Rachel Cusk
‘I stepped around as joyfully as a faun in a forest on the first day of creation.’
An excerpt from Rachel Cusk’s new novel.
A Song About Singularities
Jack Underwood
‘Precious things, even those given to me lovingly, feel like a test.’
Jack Underwood on poetry and black holes.
Mr Brown, Mrs White and Ms Black
Kei Miller
‘Yes, Ms Black. Mrs White and Mr Brown have arrived.’
An new essay by poet Kei Miller, from his forthcoming collection.
Orientation
Ben Pester
‘Graham is telling the woman that he is Orientating you. The woman in the blue cardigan looks at you and nods very solemnly.’
A story from Ben Pester’s Am I in the Right Place, available now from Boiler House Press.
Introduction
Valerie Miles
‘We wanted work of the imagination. Fiction. Consciousness captured on the page.’
Guest editor and co-founder of Granta en Español introduces the issue.
Inti Raymi
Mónica Ojeda
‘The children crossed the valley of ringing rocks, of bird bones, of fox feet.’
Fiction by Mónica Ojeda, translated by Sarah Booker.
Juancho, Baile
José Ardila
‘All of us connected by this kind of universal sunstroke.’
Fiction by José Ardila, translated by Lindsay Griffiths and Adrián Izquierdo.
Buda Flaite
Paulina Flores
‘And there was our protagonist, ambling along through Reyes Park with unhurried steps, but still never losing that fixa.’
Fiction by Paulina Flores, translated by Megan McDowell.
