Alone in Babel

Alone in Babel, Arts & CultureOctober 11, 2014

What is poetry?

By John Robert Lee

St. Lucian poet John Robert Lee asks the ‘What is Poetry?’ question, reaching the conclusion that every poem needs to contain truth, beauty and harmony.

Alone in Babel, Arts & CultureOctober 8, 2014

Free Spelling and The Textual Vernacular: On Poetry After The Internet

By Leo Mercer

Continuing our series on post-internet poetry, Leo Mercer argues for the adoption of free spelling.

Alone in Babel, Arts & CultureSeptember 6, 2014

Karachi, You’re Killing Me!

By Ghausia Rashid Salam

“As far as debut novels go, this one is pretty fantastic… Plus, it has a cat.” Ghausia Rashid Salam reviews Saba Imtiaz’s first novel.

Alone in Babel, Arts & CultureJuly 13, 2014

Poetry World Cup Final: Singapore-Pakistan

By Desmond Kon Zhicheng-MingdÃƒÂ©, Mehvash Amin

Welcome to the Poetry World Cup final!

Alone in Babel, Arts & CultureJuly 11, 2014

Semi-finals: Pakistan-Laos

By Bryan Thao Worra, Mehvash Amin

The second semi-final of the Poetry World Cup.

Alone in Babel, Arts & CultureJuly 10, 2014

Poetry World Cup: Meet the semi-finalists

By Ali Znaidi, Bryan Thao Worra, Desmond Kon Zhicheng-MingdÃƒÂ©, Mehvash Amin

“Our readers are in for a treat and will find thought-provoking verse that pushes words to the very limit… Who can ask for anything more?” Catch up with the Poetry World Cup semi-finalists!

Alone in Babel, Arts & CultureJuly 10, 2014

Semi-finals: Tunisia-Singapore

By Ali Znaidi, Desmond Kon Zhicheng-MingdÃƒÂ©

The first semi-final of the Poetry World Cup.

Alone in Babel, Arts & CultureJuly 8, 2014

Quarter-finals: India-Laos

By Bryan Thao Worra, Shikha Malaviya

The last quarter-final of the Poetry World Cup.

Alone in Babel, Arts & CultureJuly 7, 2014

Quarter-finals: Scotland-Pakistan

By Mehvash Amin, Ryan Van Winkle

The third Poetry World Cup quarter-final.

Alone in Babel, Arts & CultureJuly 6, 2014

Quarter-finals: Trinidad & Tobago-Singapore

By Desmond Kon Zhicheng-MingdÃƒÂ©, Vahni Capildeo

The second quarter-final of the Poetry World Cup.

In the Magazine

A Word from the Editor

Don’t cry like a girl. Be a (wo)man.

Why holding up the women in our lives can help build a nation, in place of tearing it down.

Literature

This House is an African House

"This house is an African house./ This your body is an African womanâ€™s body..." By Kadija Sesay.

Literature

Shoots

"Sapling legs bend smoothly, power foot in place,/ her back, parallel to solid ground,/ makes her torso a table of support..." By Kadija Sesay.

Literature

A Dry Season Doctor in West Africa

"She presses her toes together. I will never marry, she says. Jamais dans cette vie! Where can I find a man like you?" By...

In the Issue

Property of a Sorceress

"She died under mango trees, under kola nut/ and avocado trees, her nose pressed to their roots,/ her hands buried in dead leaves, her...

Literature

What Took Us to War

"What took us to war has again begun,/ and what took us to war/ has opened its wide mouth/ again to confuse us." By...

Literature

Sometimes, I Close My Eyes

"sometimes, this is the way of the world,/ the simple, ordinary world, where things are/ sometimes too ordinary to matter. Sometimes,/ I close my...

Literature

Quarter to War

"The footfalls fading from the streets/ The trees departing from the avenues/ The sweat evaporating from the skin..." By Jumoke Verissimo.

Literature

Transgendered

"Lagos is a chronicle of liquid geographies/ Swimming on every tongue..." By Jumoke Verissimo.

Fiction

Sketches of my Mother

"The mother of my memories was elegant. She would not step out of the house without her trademark red lipstick and perfect hair. She...

Fiction

The Way of Meat

"Every dayâ€”any dayâ€”any one of us could be picked out for any reason, and we would be... Weâ€™d part like hair, pushing into the...

Fiction

Between Two Worlds

"Ursula spotted the three black students immediately. Everyone did. They could not be missed because they kept to themselves and apart from the rest...."...

Essays

Talking Gender

"In fact it is often through the uninformed use of such words that language becomes a tool in perpetuating sexism and violence against women...

Essays

Unmasking Female Circumcision

"Though the origins of the practice are unknown, many medical historians believe that FGM dates back to at least 2,000 years." Gimel Samera looks...

Essays

Not Just A Phase

"...in the workplace, a person can practically be forced out of their job by discrimination, taking numerous days off for fear of their physical...

Essays

The Birth of Bigotry

"The psychology of prejudice demands that we are each our own moral police". Maria Amir on the roots of bigotry and intolerance.

Fiction

The Score

"The person on the floor was unmistakeably dead. It looked like a woman; she couldnâ€™t be sure yet..." By Hawa Jande Golakai.