The Journal
Contents
Editor’s Note
Fiction
Domestic Scene with Suspended Child
by Jan Carson
The Weird Wrong Drawers
by Maggie Mull
Same Old Story
by Leeor Ohayon
The Cowherd
by Charu Sinha
New River Cinema
Essays
My Teacher
by John Cotter
Mardi Gras
Varieties of the mortal and ghostly I
by Mark Irwin
Mr. Nobody
Transcendzoid Affect
Homecoming
by May Teng
Hybrid
Feast: Hors d’Oeuvres
Poetry
The Gunroom
by Jan Beatty
The Swan
The Swan, No. 17 (Hilma af Klint)
Another Guarantee of Protection
Metaphysics
Stay In Your Lane
[naturally, camp]
The Return of the Magi
Videos of the Moon
When history arrived,
Light and Chapel
by Sydney Lea
from I Was Part Child
by Olga Livshin
Amy Winehouse as the thirty-sixth saint at Brooklyn Botanic Gardens
In the dream where the cherry blossoms stay you’re always already gone
Arf
Descent
Needlework
A Fragment
by D. Nurkse
Reign of the Image
by D. Nurkse
The Country of Exile
by D. Nurkse
The value of things
If You Asked Me To I Would
Hummingbird
It’s All Right It’s Okay There’s Something to Live For
by Jeff Whitney
What, ultimately, are we doing here?
by Jeff Whitney
Le temps mort
by Jenny Xie
Midnight Canyon
by Jenny Xie
Art Feature
Somewhere Love Is Always Arriving
Intention for Sisters (essay)
Art takes over. Paintings by Danielle Mckinney put the thinking self among canvases and books, prefiguring essays by Christie Hodgen, John Cotter, and Mairead Small Staid. Victoria Chang and Phillip B. Williams (in poetry) and Jan Carson and Andrew Zornoza (in fiction) speak a self’s truth through art, while poems by Hilda Hilst (trans. Justin Greene), D. Nurkse, and Hayan Charara counter boggling visitations with the bulwark of language. In our introductory essay, senior editor Shuchi Saraswat resists numbness above all. May Teng and Ashaki M. Jackson (in nonfiction) and Jane Morton and Charu Sinha (in fiction) find an answer in the telling, and the listening.
Editor
William Pierce
William Pierce
Senior Editor
Shuchi Saraswat
Shuchi Saraswat
Senior Fiction Editor
Mary O'Donoghue
Mary O'Donoghue
Senior Poetry Editor
Jennifer Kwon Dobbs 허수진
Jennifer Kwon Dobbs 허수진
Fiction Editor
Julia Brown
Julia Brown
Poetry Editor
Jessica Q. Stark
Jessica Q. Stark
Nonfiction Editors
Sven Birkerts, editor emeritus
George Estreich
Sven Birkerts, editor emeritus, George Estreich
Asst. Fiction Editors
Ben Black
Ariel Courage
Koye Oyedeji
Ben Black, Ariel Courage, Koye Oyedeji
Assoc. Poetry Editor
Esteban Rodriguez
Esteban Rodriguez
Asst. Poetry Editors
Dorsey Craft
Rachel Mennies
Issam Zineh
Dorsey Craft, Rachel Mennies, Issam Zineh
Asst. Nonfiction Editor
Katie Cusumano
Katie Cusumano
Blog Editors
Ryan Choi
Grace Singh Smith
Ryan Choi, Grace Singh Smith
Reviews Editor
Rachel Mennies
Rachel Mennies
Newsletter Director
Arielle Kaplan
Arielle Kaplan
Promotions Director
Alison Lanier
Alison Lanier
Social Media (Bluesky)
Arielle Kaplan
Arielle Kaplan
Social Media (Instagram)
Katie Priest
Katie Priest
AGNI Online Archivist
Rachel Harrison
Rachel Harrison
Editorial Assistants
Meredith Olsson
Lauren Mirzakhalili
Natalie Curthoys
Lachlan Bowden
McClain Shaw
Meredith Olsson, Lauren Mirzakhalili, Natalie Curthoys, Lachlan Bowden, McClain Shaw
Founding Editor
Askold Melnyczuk
Askold Melnyczuk
Advisory Board
Ha Jin
Robert Pinsky
Rosanna Warren
Ha Jin, Robert Pinsky, Rosanna Warren
Endowment Campaign Director
Erik Vorm
Erik Vorm
Contributing Editors
Sumita Chakraborty
John J. Clayton
Stuart Dischell
Jennifer Alise Drew
Sharon Dunn, editor emerita
Anne Germanacos
Marie Howe
Alex Johnson
Dana Levin
Fred Marchant
Gail Mazur
Fiona McCrae
Dzvinia Orlowsky
E. C. Osondu
Lia Purpura
George Scialabba
Tom Sleigh
Sue Standing
Oksana Zabuzhko
Sumita Chakraborty, John J. Clayton, Stuart Dischell, Jennifer Alise Drew, Sharon Dunn, editor emerita, Anne Germanacos, Marie Howe, Alex Johnson, Dana Levin, Fred Marchant, Gail Mazur, Fiona McCrae, Dzvinia Orlowsky, E. C. Osondu, Lia Purpura, George Scialabba, Tom Sleigh, Sue Standing, Oksana Zabuzhko
Typesetting and Design
Gian Lombardo / Quale Press
Gian Lombardo / Quale Press