AGNI 97
Contents
Editor's Note
Fiction
Human Whistle
by Via Bleidner
At This Moment in a Different Year
by Alex Foster
Small Talk
Face-Blindness
Colors
Chauffeur
Essays
On Maps
Unbending Progress
An Iwo Jima Marine's Excellent Buddhist Funeral
by Kai Maristed
The Beauty of the Camera
Poetry
For Sale
Last Testament
Picturebook Brockton
What the Priestess Says
by Kwame Dawes
Site Specific
by Daisy Fried
Mammatus are pouch-like cloud structures
by Kim Garcia
Phony Ghazal
Hysterosalpingogram
a condensed history of my father's addiction
by Karan Kapoor
Your Flight
by Sydney Lea
Ching Shih Discourses on Silk
Tiptoe Ode
Big Bad
by Tyler Mills
Fairy Tale
by Trey Moody
Syllables
by Trey Moody
Letter from Control
by D. Nurkse
A Study in Summer
by Weijia Pan
The Slave's Descendant Addresses King Cotton
"this universe, my most docile & stunted"
by Danez Smith
(don't worry) if there's a hell below, we're all going to go—sonnet, chopped & screwed
by Danez Smith
Bug Chaser
by Danez Smith
"I OEDIPUS ask you . . ."
by Adam Tavel
"I OEDIPUS imagine . . ."
by Adam Tavel
Medusa as Memory
by Lee Upton
Portrait of the Chest as Fogged Mirror and Ballpoint Tattoo
by Kelly Weber
Grief for the Whale
Grief for the Whale, Again
Chinatown Blues
by John Yau
Art Feature
Paradise City
by Salman Toor
Sorties and Soundings. The opulent colors and imperiled undertones of cover and portfolio artist Salman Toor set the tone for AGNI 97. Stories by Garielle Lutz, Via Bleidner, and Anna Badkhen put the seismograph to relationships and track the needle as it jumps. Essayist Kai Maristed assesses the loss and legacy of her enigmatic father, while Ishion Hutchinson shows how the close reading of a poem can open into a close reading of the complexities of history. Poems by Kwame Dawes, Nicole W. Lee, Danez Smith, and Tyler Mills construct tales, mythographies, and fabulisms, that gesture toward another world: one that can and must be made from ours. All this and much more.
Editors
Sven Birkerts
William Pierce
Sven Birkerts, William Pierce
Associate 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 Editors
Kelle Groom
Shuchi Saraswat
Kelle Groom, Shuchi Saraswat
Editors at Large
Julia Brown
Jennifer Alise Drew
Julia Brown, Jennifer Alise Drew
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 Rodriguez
Esteban Rodriguez
Asst. Poetry Editors
Dorsey Craft
Jenny George
Dorsey Craft, Jenny George
Newsletter Director
Alison Lanier
Alison Lanier
Newsletter Introductions
Arielle Kaplan
Arielle Kaplan
Social (Facebook)
Effie Sapuridis
Effie Sapuridis
Blog Assistant
Cynthia Ayeza
Cynthia Ayeza
Social (Twitter)
Esteban Rodriguez
Arielle Kaplan
Esteban Rodriguez, Arielle Kaplan
Social (Instagram)
Sven Birkerts
Ariel Courage
Sven Birkerts, Ariel Courage
Editorial Assistants
Melissa Cook
Rachel M. Dillon
Jody Hartkopp
Ella Schroeder
Melissa Cook, Rachel M. Dillon, Jody Hartkopp, Ella Schroeder
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
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, 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
Gian Lombardo / Quale Press