AGNI 101
Contents
Editor's Note
Essays
On Dredging
What I Can't Say
by Brandi Bird
Head Blight
by Graison Gill
The Prologue
by Vedran Husić
The Everlasting Universe of Things
Burning Ring
The Break-In
Poetry
Driving from Qalandia Checkpoint to the River Jordan
by Kazim Ali
FeeJee
by Amy Beeder
Black Man, What You Got on Your Back
YET ANOTHER JACOB RIIS POEM
Autopsy of Exit Wounds
American Couplets
Office of Bombay Parsi Cultural Claims
Cameraslinger
Childhood
Morning Assembly
by Hera Naguib
Rupture Anthem
by Hera Naguib
Adapting Saw-Like Feather Fronds
by Hoa Nguyen
Don Valley Under a Truss Arch Bridge
by Hoa Nguyen
How to Resurrect a Deer
All the Sunflowers in the Field Are Dead
Caere, Cerveteri, Tarquinina, Gallerias
Things Are a Little Off between Me and My Clone
Before You Enter a Black Hole, Your Body Stretches Out
by Zeke Shomler
I'm from Purple
Pandora Addresses the Court
Catching My Breath, I Nearly Forget the View
Monet's Garden
At Safeway you point out
by Jess Yuan
Art Feature
No Words
by Malak Mattar
Comment: No Comment (essay)
by Nahil Mohana
Translated from the Arabic by Respond Crisis Translation
Gravity and grace in counterpoise. From our cover and art feature by Palestinian painter Malak Mattar to the essays, poems, and stories that inhabit AGNI 101, the inescapable world finds its match in soaring gestures of imagination. In fiction, the characters of Silja Liv Kelleris, Alp Türkol, and Haytham el-Wardany (trans. Katharine Halls) give terrible circumstances a powerful second shape. Speakers in poems by Kazim Ali, CooXooEii Black, Amy Beeder, Hera Naguib, and Robert Pinsky gaze unflinchingly to counter our sturdiest myths. And in essays, Graison Gill, Brandi Bird, and Angela Pelster—among many others—invite us into truths more complicated than the surface suggests.
Editors
Sven Birkerts
William Pierce
Sven Birkerts, William Pierce
Senior Editor
Shuchi Saraswat
Shuchi Saraswat
Senior Fiction Editor
Mary O'Donoghue
Mary O'Donoghue
Senior Poetry Editor
Jennifer Kwon Dobbs
Jennifer Kwon Dobbs
Poetry Editor
Jessica Q. Stark
Jessica Q. Stark
Nonfiction Editor
George Estreich
George Estreich
Reviews Editor
Rachel Mennies
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 Rodríguez
Esteban Rodríguez
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
Alison Lanier
Newsletter Introductions
Arielle Kaplan
Arielle Kaplan
Social (Facebook)
Arielle Kaplan
Arielle Kaplan
Blog Assistant
Cynthia Ayeza
Cynthia Ayeza
Social (Bluesky)
Esteban Rodríguez
Arielle Kaplan
Esteban Rodríguez, Arielle Kaplan
Social (Instagram)
Emma Claire Everett
Emma Claire Everett
Editorial Assistants
Hanan Akbari
Celeste Amidon
Emma Claire Everett
Elijah Frydman
Hanan Akbari, Celeste Amidon, Emma Claire Everett, Elijah Frydman
Founding Editor
Askold Melnyczuk
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 Merchant
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 Merchant, 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
Gian Lombardo / Quale Press