Honoring the spirit that survives. Valedictories for Susan Sontag and Czeslaw Milosz by Askold Melnyczuk, Sven Birkerts, and Seamus Heaney, along with fiercely idiosyncratic prose and poetry by C. K. Williams, K. E. Duffin, Magdalena Tulli, Peter LaSalle, Vivek Narayanan, Edith Pearlman, Kyle Thompson, and many others. Visual meditations on word-to-form by Deborah Davidson.

Editor

Sven Birkerts

Founding Editor

Askold Melnyczuk

Senior Editor

William Pierce

Fiction Editors

William Giraldi

William Charles Delman

Jessica Keener

William Giraldi, William Charles Delman, Jessica Keener

Poetry Editors

Ellen Wehle

Rachel DeWoskin

Ellen Wehle, Rachel DeWoskin

Office Manager

Agnes Gyorfi

Advisory Board

Leslie Epstein

Robert Pinsky

Derek Walcott

Leslie Epstein, Robert Pinsky, Derek Walcott

Editorial Assistants

Neil Angis

Jim Sitar

Camille Rankine

Zachary Read

Evan Magers

Rebecca Wangh

Krista Meany

John Spaulding

Nigel Assam

Neil Angis, Jim Sitar, Camille Rankine, Zachary Read, Evan Magers, Rebecca Wangh, Krista Meany, John Spaulding, Nigel Assam

Contributing Editors

Thomas Bahr

Erin Belieu

Lucie Brock-Broido

John J. Clayton

William Corbett

Stuart Dischell

Sharon Dunn, ed. emerita

Thomas Sayers Ellis

Marie Howe

Diana Der-Hovanessian

Ha Jin

Alex Johnson

Susan Johnson

Julia Lieblich

Fred Marchant

Fiona McCrae

Gail Mazur

Joe Osterhaus

Dzvinia Orlowsky

George Packer

Liam Rector

Scott Ruescher

George Scialabba

Tom Sleigh

Sue Standing

Rosanna Warren

Oksana Zabuzhko

Thomas Bahr, Erin Belieu, Lucie Brock-Broido, John J. Clayton, William Corbett, Stuart Dischell, Sharon Dunn, ed. emerita, Thomas Sayers Ellis, Marie Howe, Diana Der-Hovanessian, Ha Jin, Alex Johnson, Susan Johnson, Julia Lieblich, Fred Marchant, Fiona McCrae, Gail Mazur, Joe Osterhaus, Dzvinia Orlowsky, George Packer, Liam Rector, Scott Ruescher, George Scialabba, Tom Sleigh, Sue Standing, Rosanna Warren, Oksana Zabuzhko

AGNI 61

Contents

Editor's Note

Fiction

Essays

Poetry

Art Feature