Writer Roland Rugero, the first Burundian novelist to be translated into English (Baho!, translated from the French by Christopher Schafer; Phoneme Media, 2016) speaks about how the past affects present-day Burundi. Shot on location in Bujumbura, Burundi on 26 May 2016. Baho! now available wherever fine books are sold.

The Center for the Art of Translation, Phoneme Media, and Diesel, A Bookstore present exiled writer Yaghoub Yadali, the spiciest novelist from Iran, at 7.30 PM on May 19th at Diesel in Oakland. Yadali will read from his Golshiri Prize-winning novel Rituals of Restlessness, now banned in Iran. Filmed at the Huy Fong Foods, Inc. Sriracha Factory in Irwindale, CA.

Angélica Freitas reads her poem "Rilke Shake," from the 2016 Best Translated Book Award-winning collection of the same title, translated from the Brazilian Portuguese by Hilary Kaplan and published by Phoneme Media. Filmed on May 9th, 2016 in Echo Park by David Shook and Chris Ortega.

Deborah Garfinkle reads from her new translation of Pavel Šrut's Worm-Eaten Time, at the LA Lit Lounge sponsored by USCDornsife and organized by Diana Arterian.

Víctor Terán reads his translation into Isthmus Zapotec of e.e. cumming's poem "i like your body." Subtitles are true to original line breaks.

Indigenous Mexican poet Juan Gregorio Regino (b. 5 November 1962, San Miguel Soyaltepec, Oaxaca) reads his poem "My Woman" in the original Mazatec. This new translation by Jacob Surpin appears in Phoneme Media's new anthology Like a New Sun, edited by Víctor Terán and David Shook, and featuring a foreword by Eliot Weinberger. 

Filmed in Mexico City on 25 July 2015.

Not only is he Cuba's most lauded living science fiction writer, published both in his home country and around the world, Yoss sings in heavy metal band Tenaz, holds black belts in multiple martial arts, and nurtures the next generation of Cuba's genre writers. In David Shook's 18-minute portrait, Yoss discusses recent developments in US-Cuba relations, the science fiction genre's relevance in contemporary Cuba, and his vision for the Cuba(s) of the future. Yoss: A Portrait was filmed entirely on location in Havana, Cuba from January 15th through 22nd, 2015.  

Mario Bellatin explains how exposed he feels as a writer. Filmed near Pachuca, Mexico, in January 2015.

Phoneme Media author Mario Bellatin introduces the mysterious work of Japanese writer Shiki Nagaoka! Filmed by Rafael López de Cerda. Edited by Erick Jordan. Directed by David Shook. Produced by Erick Jordan, David Shook, Erandi Torres Schultz, and Mario Bellatin for Phoneme Media.

Phoneme Media author Mario Bellatin signs a limited edition of his text THE TRANSPARENT BIRD'S GAZE with his prosthetic hook, and translator David Shook signs each copy with his moustache. SOLD OUT!

Poems featured include "The North Wind Whips" and "Just Yesterday," translated by David Shook.

Poem text(s) here:
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poem/185327
http://www.poetrytranslation.org/poems/238/Just_Yesterday

Video work by Benjamin Rodkin.

Video Credits:  Director Ben Rodkin; Producers Claude Nikondeha David Shook Syd Shook; Editor Ben Rodkin; Translators Claude Nikondeha David Shook; Narrator Claude Nikondeha

The Batwa of Burundi are one of the world’s most discriminated-against communities, first colonized by the Hutu at the turn of the first millennium, then again by the Tutsis in the 1400s, before German and Belgian colonialization of the region. The Batwa survived for millennia as forest-dwelling hunter gatherers; today the majority are landless. There are also Batwa communities in Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda. Despite the bleakness of their predominant living conditions, oral poetry, song, and dance constitute an important portion of community life. This video footage was recorded in the Batwa community at Matara, in Bujumbura Rural, Burundi, in September 2011. —David Shook

I want to sing to the memory of my beloved father
who gave me a beautiful, special cow
so I could walk slender-hipped like a handsome prince
before my unjust murder.

recounted by Etienne Ndayishimiye
translated by Claude Nikondeha & David Shook

We welcome you to the Mountain of Love,
Our guests, from a faraway country.
They came because they love us.
So in turn we welcome them excitedly,
on this beautiful Mountain of Love.

performed by the Batwa at Matara
collected by Claude Nikondeha
translated by Claude Nikondeha & David Shook

Veracruz poet Juan Hernández Ramírez reads the first section of his prizewinning poem "Chikome Xochitl" in the Huastecan Nahuatl. Translated by Adam Coon with David Shook from both Huastecan Nahuatl and Spanish—Hernández's creative process employs both in dialogue with one another—this poem and an accompanying note appeared in the print edition of World Literature Today (Jan. -  Feb. 2014). 

A further selection of Juan Hernández Ramírez's poetry appears in Like a New Sun.

Video shot in Veracruz by Adam Coon. Subtitled in Los Angeles by David Shook. Poem © Juan Hernández Ramírez, 2013. Translation © Adam Coon and David Shook, 2013.

Phoneme Author Mario Bellatin, Publisher C.P. Heiser, and Editor/Translator David Shook visit a translation of the Taj Mahal in neighboring Bangladesh to prove that translations are often better than the originals they seek to reproduce. 

Phoneme Home Videos are shot and edited on the fly by the Phoneme team during their world travels. #1 was made on a visit to Bangladesh for the 2013 Dhaka Hay Festival. 

A trailer for Phoneme Media's various film projects, including work from the Zapotec Isthmus of Víctor Terán, the Kirundi oral poetry of the Burundian Batwa, Rocío Cerón's multimedia poetry project Diorama, Mario Bellatin's introduction of Shiki Nagaoka, and Marcelo Ensema Nsang's poetry from Equatorial Guinea.

Phoneme Media presents an excerpt from the short film about Mario Bellatin's Shiki Nagaoka: A Nose for Fiction. Filmed by Rafael López de Cerda. Edited by Erick Jordan. Directed by David Shook. Produced by Erick Jordan, David Shook, Erandi Torres Schultz, Theresa Ganser, and Mario Bellatin for Phoneme Media. Los Angeles Launch on 7 May 2013 at Skylight Books.

Phoneme Media's trailer for Mario Bellatin's Shiki Nagaoka: A Nose for Fiction. Filmed by Rafael López de Cerda. Edited by Erick Jordan. Directed by David Shook. Produced by Erick Jordan, David Shook, Erandi Torres Schultz, and Mario Bellatin for Phoneme Media.