Home

Dictee at Forty

The life and legacy of Theresa Hak Kyung Cha

The Sappho We Fell in Love With

Mary Barnard reinvented an ancient poet for a modern world.


Making Contact

Encounters with readers

The Stakes of Dictee

An introduction to a famously difficult work

Reclaiming Our Language

Dictee as a feminist ritual

One of my main complaints about American literary culture is that no one dances at parties. (They do in London.) So I think writers should dance at parties!

Joanna Biggs Behind the Essay

Read More

Killanova

An excerpt from a new verse play featuring the Kardashians


The Sun’s Song

An excerpt and annotation

How to Talk About Murder

Edgar Allan Poe’s stories are full of ghastly crimes, but the true horror lies in their confessions.
Ink illustration of a small boat suspended on the inner wall of a vast whirlpool of spiralling lines.
A film camera on a tripod faces a young fruit tree in a dark courtyard, lit by a work light.

The Reticent Auteur

Why are we so fascinated by filmmakers who stop making films?
Weathered apartment intercom panel; the paper name strips are torn, taped over and mostly illegible.

Famous Writers School

My encounters with literary greats

Man in Love

An excerpt and annotation

In the beginning

Clover

Other World

Fall 2026

Read our new issue online now.

View Issue

My Face

When I look in the bathroom mirror, I see my past and future selves

Absolute Darkness

A curious disorientation

The Mirror



Gods

Jan Brandes, Ananas, 1785. Courtesy Rijksmuseum, Amserdam.

Sunrise