Sui Generis is a publication of the Foreign Languages, Cultures, and Literatures program whose goal is to provide students an outlet to produce original creative work in a foreign language or translate the work of other authors.
Current Issue
Fall 2025
The theme for this year’s issue of Sui Generis is Urgency and its Ramifications.
Introduced to the English language around 1540, the English word “urgency” comes from the Latin verb urgere meaning to press hard, to urge. The word “urgency” has increased in usage since its introduction — 1800, it occurred about twice per every million words, a number that quadrupled to 6 occurrences per million words in 2019. As the word itself has changed throughout its usage, we invite you to think about urgency not only as it relates to nationwide and worldwide issues such as politics, climate, human rights, but also in the small, "quotidian" happenings of everyday life. Included in that is the language we use and the stories we tell, the books we read and the things we translate.
Introduced to the English language around 1540, the English word “urgency” comes from the Latin verb urgere meaning to press hard, to urge. The word “urgency” has increased in usage since its introduction — 1800, it occurred about twice per every million words, a number that quadrupled to 6 occurrences per million words in 2019. As the word itself has changed throughout its usage, we invite you to think about urgency not only as it relates to nationwide and worldwide issues such as politics, climate, human rights, but also in the small, "quotidian" happenings of everyday life. Included in that is the language we use and the stories we tell, the books we read and the things we translate.
Submission Guidelines
Submit polished translations of work that you’ve done in class or on your own from a foreign language into English. They can be short stories, poems, parts of essays, book excerpts, graphic novels, etc. Submissions should be no longer than 5 pages, unless the editors have previously approved it. We’re very open to various ideas and submissions, think outside the box! We want to represent Bard’s diversity in languages and cultures through students’ work.
Please cite the original text and attach a copy of it alongside your translation. If you think it is appropriate, attach a brief description of your work. For all Latin script languages, please submit your translation as a Word document; all non-Latin script languages, please submit your work as a pdf.
Please cite the original text and attach a copy of it alongside your translation. If you think it is appropriate, attach a brief description of your work. For all Latin script languages, please submit your translation as a Word document; all non-Latin script languages, please submit your work as a pdf.
2024 Editorial Staff
A Brief History
Sui Generis first saw the light in 1997 as an initiative of the Foreign Languages, Cultures, and Literatures faculty at Bard. It has been published once every spring since that year, and has grown to accommodate the new languages that entered our curriculum, such as Arabic and Japanese. We chose the name Sui Generis—“of its own kind”—because we saw this as a unique sort of publication. Our primary goal was—and still is—to encourage students to produce original creative work in a foreign language, or to translate the work of other authors. This little magazine also offers language students new opportunities to work closely with our faculty and Foreign Language Exchange Tutors. Over the years Sui Generis has given increased visibility to Bard’s innovative language programs, and we are proud of all the dedication our student contributors and editors have shown.