Imperfect
May 22, 2020
in art / there are so many more endings / that we can’t even imagine it.
Guernica
A Magazine of Global Arts & Politics
Arts & Culture
Interview
Back Draft: Miranda Popkey
May 5, 2020
The novelist discusses the shape of a narrative, and the value of retyping.
Poetry
Is This Not Why You Are Here?
April 24, 2020
He didn’t see the flares / because our dreams are limitless.
Fiction
High Ground
April 23, 2020
The shed is dark except for the triangle of dusty sunlight that reaches through the crooked doorway. You and Adam are huddled in the back, breathing hard. Notice the dark: darker than the empty baseball fields in moonless winter; darker than sleep.
Review
Never Shalem
April 16, 2020
A dynamic new generation of Palestinian and Druze women artists is coming up in Israel.
Fiction
No-Signal Area
March 27, 2020
By the time the war spilled over into the third country after a year, Oleg, like everyone else, was already inured to the gruesome news.
Essay
Medusa and the Invention of Spells
March 25, 2020
A spell is most effective when you want something and can remember a time it already existed.
Poetry
Hurricanes with the Names of My Friends
March 13, 2020
We are disappearing into / the map’s folds. Small birds. Smaller ones.
Review
In the “Low”
March 4, 2020
In Jeet Thayil’s newest novel, the Narcopolis narrator returns to a transformed Bombay, in search of oblivion.
Fiction
Theater of Shadows
February 27, 2020
Beneath or beyond the performances lay the fascination of the shadow-world itself, with its hiddenness, its refusal of color, its indifference to familiar effects of visual precision and detail.
Interview
Back Draft: Emily Wilson
February 24, 2020
The translator on being drawn to Homer, and the timelessness of toxic masculinity.
Fiction
Notes from a Nothing
February 13, 2020
Here I am at graduation, lifting a leg under the white gown of purity, to show off a new pump.
Commentary
Hanif Abdurraqib and the Performance of Grief
February 10, 2020
On the particular braiding of grief and nostalgia that animates the poet-slash-critic's work.
Review
The Impertinence of Counterculture
January 29, 2020
A review of Living in a World That Can’t Be Fixed by Curtis White
Lives
With Jazz on the Turntable and a Drink in His Hand
January 22, 2020
In the dark nights after long days, the music gave our fathers something to cling to.
Poetry
Portrait of a Boy with Grief
December 6, 2019
you will open your wounds / and make them a garden
Review
Everything Hiding the Secret of Its Taste
December 5, 2019
Marie NDiaye’s new novel, The Cheffe, is an ode to wasted love.
Interview
Robert Gipe: A Cure for Despair
November 25, 2019
The author and activist on gallows humor, the need to tell stories, and helping communities thrive.
Essay
Artist in Residence
November 19, 2019
What I learned—and didn’t—from living with a jazz legend.
Essay
Out of the Maze
September 26, 2019
Searching for meaning in madness at London's Bethlem Museum of the Mind.
Interview
Susan Choi: The Limitation of Perspective
August 23, 2019
The author of “Trust Exercise” on her evolving narrative preoccupations and the radical contradictions of adolescence.
EssayLives
Jasmine Fingers
August 22, 2019
How does the poem keep us there? in memory? in the traces? keep us coming back?
Interview
Catherine Chung: The Vast and the Intricate
July 11, 2019
The author discusses the limits of identity, the power of ownership, and the narrative beauty of math.
Interview
Kristen Arnett: It Starts With An Image
July 3, 2019
The writer on depicting experienced sex scenes, finding humor in the absurd, and the exciting possibilities of the gross.
Essay
An Infrastructure of Innocence
June 25, 2019
On a trip to Alabama, reckoning with monuments, myths, and To Kill a Mockingbird.
Interview
Becoming a Map for Survival: Interview with Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
June 18, 2019
The writer on resisting racist ableist erasure in her latest essay collection about disability justice.
Commentary
Arundhati Roy: “Literature provides shelter”
May 20, 2019
In this year’s PEN America Arthur Miller Freedom to Write Lecture, Arundhati Roy spoke about the power of literature to challenge governments.
Commentary
Six Writers on the Power of Telling the Truth
May 16, 2019
At a panel at this year’s PEN America World Voices Festival, six writers discuss the empowering effects of sharing difficult experiences.
Commentary
Two “Artists of the Air” on the Limits of Time and Space
May 16, 2019
At a panel at this year’s PEN America World Voices Festival, high-wire walker Phillippe Petit and extreme-action pioneer Elizabeth Streb discuss their death-defying art.
Commentary
Five Poets Reflect on the Life and Work of Yusef Komunyakaa
May 16, 2019
At a panel at this year’s PEN America World Voices Festival, five poets discuss the pain and self-actualization in the poems of Komunyakaa.
Interview
Fernando A. Flores: “The oldest stories of this land were fantastical in essence”
April 26, 2019
An emerging voice in fiction discusses writing as performance, translating rhythm into narrative, and writing the “anti-research” novel.
Interview
Hilary Hahn: Entering the Sublime
April 25, 2019
The renowned violinist on the joys and intensities of creative life.
Report
Here We Abandon All Destinations
March 28, 2019
A boundary-pushing drag bar in Brooklyn promises more freedom for us all
Lives
The Grandmother Character
March 19, 2019
I thought: I would never write a fictional scene like this, because it was too obvious—the art butting up against reality, as though my story held some kind of portentous power.
EssayLives
Dancing Alvin Ailey’s Revelations in Black and Brown
March 15, 2019
How can I perform a story that isn’t mine to tell?
Interview
Back Draft: Natasha Trethewey
February 26, 2019
The acclaimed poet discusses a devastating fire, and the painterly in poetry.
Review
The Carnegie International Explores its Past With an Eye to the Future
February 7, 2019
The exhibition's 57th edition casts a wide net, and the result is bold and thoughtful.
Fiction
Enacting Africa
December 26, 2018
“Jambo!” my client greeted me, over-cheerfully.
“Jambo!” I hailed back, slightly accentuating the pitch of my voice to match his high-octane enthusiasm.
Review
Carrie Mae Weems on a Century of American Violence
December 3, 2018
The artist and multimedia storyteller has created a haunting installation for the Cornell Council of the Arts’ 2018 Biennale.
Interview
A.J. Jacobs: Gratitude and the Global Supply Chain
November 20, 2018
A writer's quest to thank everyone involved in the production of his morning coffee took him on a journey through the benefits of mental positivity and the complexities of global commerce.
Essay
Listening for Ghost-Voices
November 9, 2018
A novel borne out of an earthquake, a departed friend, and a translation from which lost voices rise.
Interview
Idra Novey: Silence Is Complicity
November 7, 2018
The novelist, poet, and translator on the responsibilities we hold, the consequences of silence, and writing cross-genre.
Interview
Heather Havrilesky: Digging for Something Real
November 1, 2018
The author of “What If This Were Enough?” on honest writing, raising kids with social media, and the growing pains of a constantly-wired culture.
Commentary
(How to) Suffer Well: Depression Sitting Still
October 24, 2018
Is the act of enduring hardship a virtue, or just an exercise in malaise?
Fiction
Destroy All Monsters
October 8, 2018
She likes how he listens, likes the easy cadence of their conversation. Despite herself, she moves a little closer, intrigued by his faint aroma of spicy cologne and sour sweat. It’s not a bad smell.
Review
A Deliberately Wonky Sense of Morality
October 5, 2018
On Andrew Martin’s debut novel, Early Work.
Interview
Miscellaneous Files: Olivia Laing
October 4, 2018
In the first installment of our multimedia interview series, Olivia Laing uses screenshots to explain how the secretarial parts of writing can be both pleasurable and productive.
Interview
Saadia Faruqi: Writing a Muslim Protagonist for Young Readers
September 27, 2018
The Pakistani-American author and activist on the burden of representation, the hunger for perfection, and the most important things about writing for kids.
Essay
The Franz Kafka Marriage Manual for Young Ladies
September 25, 2018
What to do with the art of a man more monstrous than the monster he created?
Report
Chengdu Cool: The Rise of Sichuan’s Homegrown Hip Hop
August 29, 2018
The city of Chengdu is raising China’s new generation of rappers. They are playful, provocative, and boldly assert a distinct regional sound that the public has not heard before. But under the tightening grip of the government censor, can Chengdu’s hip-hop artists keep their cool?
Interview
Ada Limón: Connected to the Universe
July 24, 2018
The critically acclaimed poet on taking risks, accepting grace, and holding the world’s pain.
Interview
Brian Turner: A Music That Suits Our Time on the Planet
July 17, 2018
The poet on his debut album—a tribute to and collaboration with his late wife, by The Interplanetary Acoustic Team—and the role of music in literary practice.
Review
Seeing Art in Medical Archives
June 27, 2018
On both sides of the Atlantic, art and medicine mingle.
Interview
Lotte Geeven: Crowdsourcing the Songs of Sand
May 7, 2018
The Dutch artist has enlisted helpers from around the globe to help her reproduce the unique sounds of the world’s singing deserts.
Interview
Back Draft: Carl Phillips
May 3, 2018
The inaugural installment of a new series about the revision process in poetry. First up: Carl Phillips.
Review
The Slave Theater Lives On Through Crystal Z. Campbell
February 23, 2018
A short, fragmented film is a reminder of what was lost.
Interview
Carmen Maria Machado’s Beautiful Bad Dreams
February 19, 2018
The author of Her Body and Other Parties talks about queerness, writing good sex scenes, and what scares her the most.
Essay
Shawn Walker, Cultural Anthropologist
February 7, 2018
A visit with the photographer and activist, whose first solo retrospective is now on exhibit at Steven Kasher Gallery.
Interview
Theater for a Now Audience: A Roundtable
January 17, 2018
Today's playwrights and directors weigh in on politics in theater and the state of the stage in a time of upheaval.
Essay
Underneath the Pavement, A Swelling of Grief
January 9, 2018
Seeing Dubuffet in St. Louis, then Kahlil Robert Irving in New York.
Interview
Eli Valley: Let the Horror Speak for Itself
January 4, 2018
The cartoonist on taking back Judaism and the role of satire in America today.
Interview
Jonas Bendiksen: Among the Messiahs
December 29, 2017
Around the world, men claim to be the Second Coming of Christ. The photographer recounts the years he spent documenting—and befriending—six of them.
Commentary
The Family Dolls, Featuring Charlie, Leslie, & More
December 20, 2017
Why it's okay to play with Manson family paper dolls: The first six installments of John Reed's Manson Family Paper Doll book. Print & Color Yourself!
EssayPhotography
The Incendiary Photography of Jill Freedman
December 6, 2017
Irreverent and incisive photographs of a 1968 camp on the National Mall evoke the power of protest.
Fiction
Those Years in Montreal
November 22, 2017
You would not believe what the secret police is interested in. Fetishes, preferences, noises made in bed, how you brush your teeth.
Essay
Surrealist Refugees in the Tropics
November 17, 2017
Jacqueline Lamba, the scandalously beautiful artist and aquatic burlesque performer who enchanted Frida Kahlo, meets Suzanne Cesaire, known as the Black Panther of Négritude.
Commentary
Armistice Day in the Virtual Trenches
November 11, 2017
The First World War ended a century ago, but its violence persists.
Lives
Primed for Mysticism and Scared to Death
October 23, 2017
A writer reckons with Judaism, the writing life, and the allure of fundamentalism.
Review
An Inspired Time for American Poetry
October 19, 2017
Fifteen debut poetry collections that define the cultural moment.
Interview
Chris Kraus: After Kathy Acker
October 16, 2017
The novelist, critic, and biographer on radical localism, the art of compensation, and the editor as auteur.
Interview
Holly Fitzgerald: Lost in the Jungle Again
October 5, 2017
Holly Fitzgerald discusses her memoir of a desperate month in the Peruvian wilderness.
Commentary
The Many Ivans
September 14, 2017
Weiqing Yuan on being a Chinese street artist in Times Square
Interview
Jeff VanderMeer: Life Apocalyptic
August 7, 2017
The writer dubbed the “Weird Thoreau” on ecological fiction and the cult of climate-change denial.
Review
When Loving New York Means Crying Over a Lunch Counter
August 3, 2017
Jeremiah Moss's blog-turned-book stands as an impassioned work of advocacy on behalf of a city that’s slipping away.
Report
Eating with the Enemy
July 31, 2017
“Every American has a relationship with Iraq,” says artist Michael Rakowitz, the creator of Enemy Kitchen, “whether they like it or not.”
Review
The Tangled World of Bodies
July 26, 2017
Danya Kukafka’s debut novel brings new depth to the tropes of the thriller
Interview
Mithkal Alzghair: Dancing Displacement
July 25, 2017
The Syrian choreographer on his latest performance.
Interview
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
July 20, 2017
Téa Obreht and Dan Sheehan consider the finest on-camera smooches.
Interview
William E. Jones: Urgency and Impermanence
July 19, 2017
Filmmaker, artist, and writer William E. Jones discusses his new film.
Essay
Video ad Absurdum
July 5, 2017
How a collection of fifteen thousand Jerry Maguire VHS tapes reveals the ugly underbelly of the media-entertainment industry.
Interview
Victoria Redel: The Lifelong Power of Female Friendships
June 27, 2017
The writer on making hard choices, being raised by feminists, and her latest novel's newfound wisdom.
Essay
Nina Simone in Liberia
June 19, 2017
The singer went to Africa, she said, in search of peace, or a husband, or maybe the feeling of home.
Commentary
August Sander: The Intimacy of Time
June 15, 2017
The singular power of portraiture's 20th century master.
Interview
Tine Thing Helseth: Listening to the Heart and Mind of a Musical Genius
June 15, 2017
Norway’s foremost trumpet soloist plays without a safety net.
Interview
Amy Benson: Like a Cloud You Walk Into and Then Out of Again
June 11, 2017
The essayist on the first person and the end of humanity.
Interview
Osama Alomar: The Whole World Is Fighting
June 9, 2017
The novelist on Syria, censorship, and the safety—and power—of metaphor.
Interview
Julia Fierro: Only People Can Let Us Down
June 7, 2017
The novelist on her struggle with mental health, the limits of empathy, and the necessity of suffering.
Commentary
The Afterlife of the Party
June 5, 2017
What the late Glenn O'Brien can teach us about grieving online.
Essay
Mother Tongue
June 5, 2017
For a bilingual new mother, parenting becomes an experiment in identity—both her child's and her own.