This issue of Litro is about Brazil. Why? Because its literature is obscure here, even to those who know their Latin Americans. So, we’re delighted to share the strange, distinctive fruits of our Brazilian tour – and to thank our two modest guides, Christina Baum of FLIP festival, and Stefan Tobler, translator and entrepreneur.

The issue is, particularly, an homage to Clarice Lispector, often called the greatest modern Brazilian writer but still essentially an enigma in Britain. Benjamin Moser writes here on one of Lispector’s best novels, while José Eduardo Agualusa’s story pays a generation’s dues to the ‘Brazilian sphinx’. Her name echoes through Flávio Carneiro’s ‘The Pageant’ and in the tone of Raduan Nassar’s and Claudia Laje’s salutary fantasies.

We also bring you a poetry sequence by Andra Simons, a poem by Rilke and a story by Gabriel Josipovici, each of which looks forward to our February issue – which will now be the first of 2010 – themed in celebration of the Joy of Crime. (If you have already submitted for this theme, we assure you your stories are safe and will be considered for the next issue.)

Let us know if you like what you’re reading!

Sophie Lewis
& Dena Ziari