Poems

The Bug That Ate the VegetableI spoke endlessly, you refused totally,I articulated incessantly, you kept shrugging your shouldersI spoke it in codes, I spoke French,You turned a deaf ear,… More

Títílolá

TítíloláIt’s not that I have never seen a bird,But the peacock is different among birds.It’s not that I have never seen a snake before,But Nìnì is the most attractive… More

Memories of the Decadence

During the Decadence we gave up sexual intercourse, substituting for it various kinds of fetishism. We refined our tastes, narrowing their range and fantastically increasing their complexity. Certain people… More

Of Course and Utensils Shrink

Of Coursehe won’t tell you his whole lifein three hours or in three days, evenif he really wantedto show you that he likes youand trusts you. There’s justno way… More

Amir and Khalil: Mehdi’s Gone

"Mehdi’s Gone" is part of Zahra’s Paradise, a story set in the aftermath of Iran’s 2009 elections that First Second Books is publishing online in Farsi, Arabic, English, French,… More

A Game

Marrell and Tom’s living room, after the dinner part of the dinner party.Tom:Jane: Tom: Jane:Marrell:Tom:Jane:Marrell:Tom & Marrell:Marrell:Tom:Marrell:Alan:Marrell & Tom:Jane:Tom & Marrell:Jane:Tom:Marrell:Tom:Jean-Pierre:Tom & Marrell:Jean-Pierre:Marrell:Tom:Jean-Pierre:Tom:Jean-Pierre:Tom:Jean-Pierre:Marrell:Jean-Pierre:Marrell:Tom:Jean-Pierre:Tom:Marrell:Tom:Marrell:Alan:Tom:Alan:Tom:Marrell:Tom:Marrell:Alan:Marrell:Tom:Marrell:Tom:Marrell:Jean-Pierre:Alan:Tom:Marrell:Tom:Jean-Pierre:Marrell:Tom:Marrell:Alan:Marrell:Tom:Alan:Tom:Marrell:Jean-Pierre:Tom:Alan:Marrell:Alan:Tom:Jean-Pierre:Tom:Alan:Marrell:Alan:Marrell:Alan:Marrell:Alan:Marrell:Alan:Marrell:Jean-Pierre:Tom:Marrell:Tom:Jean-Pierre:Jane:Tom:Alan:Tom:Marrell & Alan:Tom:Jean-Pierre:Alan:Tom:Jane:Alan:Jean-Pierre:Alan:Marrell:Alan:Marrell:Jane:Marrell:Tom:Jane:Alan:Jane:Tom:Jane:Marrell:Tom:Jane:Alan:Jane:Tom:Jane:Marrell:Jane:All Except Jane:Jane:All Except Jane:Jane:All Except Jane:Jane:All Except Jane:Jane:All… More

Ten Approximations

East German ChinaLove, like music, is always a true story—in the spring of 1980, half a year before we emigrated to Israel, my grandfather decided to smuggle his collection… More

In Sfax

I no longer know exactly how this strange premonition came about, but I was certain I was going to die on this trip to Tunisia. I’ve often taken the… More