Spring 2024 - Recrudescence

Editor’s Welcome

Catherine Hoffman in “Little Fluff” shows how sometimes the future relies on the past. She returns to her roots in Hungary and attempts to reconnect with a past that is physically far from Australia. The question of returning to our past—whether our own or our family’s—also arises in Rimas Uzgiri’s poems. He is a Lithuanian American who now calls Vilnius his home. His poetry explores the impact of place and ideas of movement that can cause us to rethink our ways of life and our relationships with places over time. Galician author Eva Moreda’s “Stitches”, translated by Lindsay Semel, transports us to Spain just prior to Franco’s seizing of power. It follows a group of girls at a religious boarding school who navigate coming to age in the midst of a drastic transition in their country’s government. Bulgarian author Yordan Yovkov also supplies us with a story about a society in flux. “Through the Plague”, translated by Teodora Gandeva, narrates how a small village gossips and then reacts to a new malady that suddenly shows up on their doorsteps in the midst of festivity. We end this collection with our final use of the term “Recrudescence.” The Red Handler by Norwegian author Johan Harstad, translated by David Smith, completely puts into question the popular detective fiction genre as well as the writing process. As exemplified in the excerpt, Harstad creates boiled-down detective fiction accompanied by lengthy endnotes explaining authorial choice and interpretation. This work redefines a genre and shows how becoming raw, while uncomfortable, can produce greatness. Accompanying these wonderful literary selections are photographs by the amazing Mark Chester. Each photo connects to the story and, thus, the theme. A special thanks goes to veteran Trafika Europe editor, Joe Williams, for his assistance on this issue. Check out www. trafikaeurope.org/trafika-europe-radio for a selection of amazing interviews with the authors and translators of this issue that will be released over the following weeks. With that, I leave you to sit back and enjoy these works that will surely make you think in new, innovative ways. — Clayton McKee, Director of Trafika Europe

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