Night Zoo

My heart began racing the moment I reached the entrance. We hadn’t seen each other for a week, and after so long your absence was almost unbearable. Occasionally we… More

Yoshihiro Tatsumi: Hell

"Hell," a graphic story by Yoshihiro Tatsumi, appears in PEN America 10: Fear Itself. To read the rest of this story, pick up a copy of PEN America 10: Fear… More

The Naked Eye

An eye on film, affixed to an unconscious body. The eye sees nothing for the camera has already robbed it of vision. The gaze of the nameless lens licks… More

Reunion

Men’s faces always appear old to me. Most of the ones who visit the karaoke parlor are ageing, with wives and children at home. They were born in the… More

Soap and Ambergris

I live in a small, single-story house in Al-Atayef Quarter. My husband didn’t leave me anything, apart from a mud house that shakes when the thunder crashes and the… More

The Man From Far Away

While clearing out his closet on the day he was to leave his home forever, my father, momentarily alert, unyieldingly stoic, and eighty-eight years at it, offers me an… More

The Acrobat

Palm Springs, California, 18 January 1954Sharpen the blade on the strop fixed to the wall, moisten the soap in the bowl with hot water, remove any loose bristles from… More

Rituals of Restlessness

“Where are we going sir?”“To work.”“What’s our business?”Kamran felt less anxious when he talked. He didn’t want to remain silent, even for a second. He just wanted to talk,… More