The marks the world leaves. Our hundredth issue exemplifies the engagement, nuance, and spirit that are AGNI’s trademark. Cover artist Chitra Ganesh starts things off with a playful visual rendering of “Sultana’s Dream,” a 1905 feminist utopian fiction by Rokeya Hossain. Stories by Colin Winnette, Xueyi Zhou, and Monique Schwitter (translated by Susan Bernofsky) follow women’s subversion of the gaze, into places of throttled emotion. A bounty of poets, including Paisley Rekdal, J. P. Grasser, and janan alexandra, join the formal ingenuities of DeeSoul Carson, Danielle Pierrati, and others to reach a new intimacy with the past. And essayists Wiam El-Tamami, Elvis Bego, and Anna Badkhen bring a rigorous, compassionate seeing to their meditations on loss and conflict. All this and much more.

Editors

Sven Birkerts

William Pierce

Sven Birkerts, William Pierce

Senior Editor

Shuchi Saraswat

Senior Fiction Editor

Mary O'Donoghue

Senior Poetry Editor

Jennifer Kwon Dobbs

Poetry Editor

Jessica Q. Stark

Nonfiction Editor

George Estreich

Reviews Editor

Rachel Mennies

Blog Editors

Ryan Choi

Grace Singh Smith

Ryan Choi, Grace Singh Smith

Asst. Fiction Editors

Ben Black

Amber Caron

Ariel Courage

Ben Black, Amber Caron, Ariel Courage

Assoc. Poetry Editor

Esteban Rodriguez

Asst. Poetry Editors

Dorsey Craft

Rachel Mennies

Issam Zineh

Dorsey Craft, Rachel Mennies, Issam Zineh

Editors at Large

Julia Brown

Jenny George

Julia Brown, Jenny George

Newsletter Founder

Alison Lanier

Newsletter Introductions

Arielle Kaplan

Social (Facebook)

Effie Sapuridis

Blog Assistant

Cynthia Ayeza

Social (X)

Esteban Rodriguez

Arielle Kaplan

Esteban Rodriguez, Arielle Kaplan

Social (Instagram)

Rachel Dillon

Editorial Assistants

Lily Seltz

Emma Claire Everett

Patrick Mulqueen

Louise Moran

Lily Seltz, Emma Claire Everett, Patrick Mulqueen, Louise Moran

Founding Editor

Askold Melnyczuk

Advisory Board

Leslie Epstein

Ha Jin

Robert Pinsky

Rosanna Warren

Leslie Epstein, Ha Jin, Robert Pinsky, Rosanna Warren

Contributing Editors

Sumita Chakraborty

John J. Clayton

Stuart Dischell

Jennifer Alise Drew

Sharon Dunn, ed. emerita

Anne Germanacos

Marie Howe

Alex Johnson

Dana Levin

Fred Marchant

Fiona McCrae

Gail Mazur

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, ed. emerita, Anne Germanacos, Marie Howe, Alex Johnson, Dana Levin, Fred Marchant, Fiona McCrae, Gail Mazur, Dzvinia Orlowsky, E. C. Osondu, Lia Purpura, George Scialabba, Tom Sleigh, Sue Standing, Oksana Zabuzhko

Typesetting & Design

Gian Lombardo / Quale Press

AGNI 100

Contents

Editor's Note

Fictions

Essays

Poetry

Art Feature