Lift your reading glasses for a toast: Last night we celebrated the first birthday of B O D Y with a listening party in the heart of Prague.
With readings from Milan Děžinsky, Nathan Fields, Natashia Deon, Joshua Weiner, Yang Lian, Ondřej Buddeus, and Yo Yo, we heard some of the most prominent poets, fiction writers, and translators of the Czech Republic, China, and the United States. With complimentary single malts, we lifted the finest drams of Scotland; refreshment befitting the outstanding readings — in English, Czech, and Chinese — that celebrated a distinguished year.
Thank you to our guests, to our writers, and to you, B O D Y reader.
–The Editors
These poems explore the changes wrought by flight as in fleeing from, forced travel, emigration, leaving with no guarantee you will return, sometimes knowing you won't.
My Seven Lives tells a story of 20th century Central Europe through the voice of Slovak journalist Agneša Kalinová.
I discovered a lot of secrets, a lot of combinations, dark, political, religious, ideological, personal, to do with chess; spying, double and triple secret agents from all camps, secret police involved in dirty activities.
Dream of a Journey: Selected Poems, brings to readers of English the first full-length volume of poems by Czech poet Kateřina Rudčenková.
One of those things most difficult to convey about the special conditions in which we lived was the visegradišag: that everything, buying bread, recycling, riding the tram, came with a surreal associated cost that was impossible to anticipate and could range in consequence from mild discomfort to soulshattering alienation
They are women who want to look into the mirror and be satisfied with their reflection. Envy is born when you look into the mirror and don’t like what you see there. Everything about this sin begins with the eyes.
Herewith a fresh selection of our favorite recent poetry, fiction, and biography in translation from Ukrainian, Hungarian, Czech, and Italian.
For a moment, she wondered where all dead birds go when they die, which probably happens every minute of every hour, so really, birds should be falling from the sky not just from time to time, but raining down constantly, over both deserted and inhabited areas...
To my surprise I realized I had a terrible urge to sleep with this girl, and I was immediately aroused. And I became angry at myself for being aroused. It came on so suddenly that for a moment I didn’t know what to do.
What are you reading? Here at B O D Y we’ve always got a tome or two open, and we're happy to recommend these recent books.