AGNI 71
Contents
Editor's Note
Essays
The Knife Handler
The Drowning Lifeguard
by Mike Scalise
The Lightning-Rod Man: The Migraine Headache as Heuristic Tool
by Paul West
Poetry
After the Battle of Long Island, the Battle of Pell’s Point
Evening in the Window
Elegy with Mistakes All through It
by Matt Donovan
Van Gogh’s First Sunday Sermon
by Matt Donovan
“No crying, calling out, complaining . . .”
Translated from the Russian by James Stotts
Seven Chants, A War Cry
Angels Unawares
selections from Akeldama
Like Heart’s Desire
How Deep Is the River
by Kirk Nesset
Grandpa’s Spells
In the Egyptian Wing of the Museum
Men Falling Out of the Sky
Solitude in Hotels
The Medium
Fr. 2 FGE [Epitaph for Those Fallen at Euripus]
by Simonides
Translated from the ancient Greek by Kelli Boyles
Fr. 9 FGE [Epitaph for Those Fallen with Leonidas]
by Simonides
Translated from the ancient Greek by Kelli Boyles
Gutter Life
by Daniel Tobin
Conversations
An Interview with Donald Hall
Detonations and responses. The pressure of consequences public and private moves through fiction by Tom Bissell, Carolyn Cooke, Marjorie Sandor, and others. It turns lyrical in work by Charles Simic, Major Jackson, Kathleen Graber, and Melissa Green, and flares up surprisingly in essays by Paul West, Lia Purpura, Lynne Sharon Schwartz, and Alex Lemon. The issue also includes a career-spanning interview with Donald Hall and a portfolio of artist Ellen Driscoll’s strikingly engaged installations.
Editor
Sven Birkerts
Sven Birkerts
Founding Editor
Askold Melnyczuk
Askold Melnyczuk
Senior Editor
William Pierce
William Pierce
Sr. Fiction Editor
William Giraldi
William Giraldi
Fiction Editor
Jessica Keener
Jessica Keener
Poetry Editor
Lynne Potts
Lynne Potts
Asst. Poetry Editor
Sumita Chakraborty
Sumita Chakraborty
Advisory Board
Leslie Epstein
Robert Pinsky
Derek Walcott
Rosanna Warren
Leslie Epstein, Robert Pinsky, Derek Walcott, Rosanna Warren
Editorial Assistants
Rachel Mennies
Ani Gjika
Bekah Stout
Vaughn Watson
Indu Ohri
Jenny Peng
Chiara Scully
Rebecca van Laer
Allison Amaro
Joanna Chae
Rachel Mennies, Ani Gjika, Bekah Stout, Vaughn Watson, Indu Ohri, Jenny Peng, Chiara Scully, Rebecca van Laer, Allison Amaro, Joanna Chae
Contributing Editors
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
Fred Marchant
Fiona McCrae
Gail Mazur
Joe Osterhaus
Dzvinia Orlowsky
Liam Rector (1949-2007)
George Scialabba
Tom Sleigh
Sue Standing
Oksana Zabuzhko
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, Fred Marchant, Fiona McCrae, Gail Mazur, Joe Osterhaus, Dzvinia Orlowsky, Liam Rector (1949-2007), George Scialabba, Tom Sleigh, Sue Standing, Oksana Zabuzhko