Published for the first time in English, a final collection of essays by the renowned fabulist writer tours the visual world through explorations of subjects ranging from cuneiform and antique maps to Mexican temples and Japanese gardens.

This “brilliant collection of essays” and travelogues by the celebrated author of Invisible Cities “may change the way you see the world around you” (The Guardian, UK). Italo Calvino’s boundless curiosity and ingenious imagination are displayed in peak form in Collection of Sand, his last collection of new works published during his lifetime. Delving into the delights of the visual world—both in art and travel—the subjects of these 38 essays range from cuneiform and antique maps to Mexican temples and Japanese gardens. In Calvino’s words, this collection is “a diary of travels, of course, but also of feelings, states of mind, moods…The fascination of a collection lies just as much in what it reveals as in what it conceals of the secret urge that led to its creation” (from Collection of Sand). Never before translated into English, Collection of Sand is an incisive and often surprising meditation on observation and knowledge, “beautifully translated by Martin McLaughlin” (The Guardian, UK).

Longlisted for the National Book Award "Mind-blowing." —Kim Gordon DEADPAN, EPIC, AND SEARINGLY CHARISMATIC, A Sand Book chronicles climate change and climate grief, gun violence and bystanderism, state violence and complicity, mourning and ecstasy, sex and love, and the transcendent shock of prophecy, tracking new dimensions of consciousness for our strange and desperate times.

Sand and Pebbles presents the first complete English rendering of Shasekishū--the classic, popular Buddhist "Tale Literature" (setsuwa). This collection of instructive, yet often humorous, anecdotes appeared in the late thirteenth century, within decades of the first stirrings of the revolutionary movements of Kamakura Buddhism. Shasekishū's author, Mujū Ichien (1226-1312), lived in a rural temple apart from the centers of political and literary activity, and his stories reflect the customs, attitudes and lifestyles of the commoners. In Sand and Pebbles, complete translations of Book One and other significant narrative parts are supplemented by summaries of the remaining (especially didactic) material and by excerpts from Mujū's later work. Introduced by a historical sketch of the period, this work also contains a biography of Mujū. Illustrations, charts, a chronology, glossary of terms, notes, an extensive bibliography and an index guide the reader into a seldom seen corner of old Japan. Mujū and his writings will interest students of literature as well as scholars of Japanese religion, especially Buddhism. Anthropologists and sociologists will discover details of Kamakura life and thought unrecorded in the official chronicles of the age.

Sand Nigga is a fictional collection of short stories, poems, unsent letters, and confessions written by a man and a woman over the course of 1 year. The source of the book’s title, Sand Nigga is revealed in Story 6. Bula’s heartfelt writing is captivating, humorous, frank, subtle, and courageous. The book’s title story is a sharply poignant tale, which addresses imposed racism by older generations upon their unwilling and younger counterparts. In the story God Within, Bula’s finely tuned ear for combining irony and humor with compassion is very telling, as story’s protagonist asks the reader a series of questions and poses a seemingly radical scenario to allow for an imaginative adventure through America. Unsent Letters and Confessions take the reader on a journey through the comedic adventures of life, loves, losses, and triumphs. With each story, Bula creates believable and honest experiences in ordinary situations, which become extraordinary. The range of her talent and imagination is broad and yet focused. She has the unique ability to artistically create the worlds of the immigrant and the native, the man and the woman, the priest and the sermon, and the trillion-dollar corporations who seemingly rule the world.

Thirteen new stories by the celebrated writer, including two which he considers his greatest achievements to date, artfully blend elements from many literary geares.

Includes the stories The Congress, Undr, The Mirror and the Mask, August 25, 1983, Blue Tigers, The Rose of Paracelsus and Shakespeare's Memory.