AGNI 99
Contents
Editor's NoteFictionsEssaysPoetryArt FeatureTo Never Have Risked Our Lives: A Portfolio of Central American and Mexican Diaspora Writing
Editor's Note
The Uncanny Valley
Fictions
Burrowing Creatures
Greg's Emile
Essays
Owl: An Imaginary
by Lia Purpura
Fifty Mothers
The Last Place I Saw Them: An Abecedarian
by Marion Winik
Poetry
For a Moment
Kapparot
by Jared Beloff
Breathers
The Devouring Economy of Nature
from Alliterative Autobiography
Journal for Pomegranates
Nosotros
Against Rhetoric
by Issam Zineh
For My Father and His Tender Heart
by Issam Zineh
Art Feature
Muy peligroso / Very dangerous
The Accident Painter
To Never Have Risked Our Lives: A Portfolio of Central American and Mexican Diaspora Writing
Editor's Note
Fictions
Camilla
Mud & Chiffon
Pizzle Flowers
The Invented Languages of Adela Arkani
All the Things We Hid
Poetry
Triptych
“But there is no migrant crisis . . .”
“Inside me there’s a refugee . . .”
Homo naledi
by Sara Borjas
Palestine Is Showing Us That Decolonization Is Not Abstract
by Sara Borjas
"Esta carretera también es tuya mija"
by Rosa Chávez
"This highway is also yours my daughter"
by Rosa Chávez
Translated from Spanish by Gabriela Ramirez-Chavez
One Rabbit
Ode to Malignancy
by Rocío Franco
CITY OF MEXICO-U.S. BORDER BUREAU OF VITAL STATISTICS
creation myth: chicana (1999)
The Lesson, But Not Yet, Not—
Apocalypses: Scenario #445-220
The Unwritten Rules of Animating Speedy Gonzales
Whenever I Say I'm Mexican
Aránzazu Hears One Final Prayer Before the Monsoon
Coyote-Girl Bantu
by Mary Robles
La Malinche Orders Chipotle
All of our places remain. Contributors struggle with displacement and “home,” belonging and having to establish, resisting and being able to simply be. Partly devoted to a major new portfolio of writing from the Central American and Mexican diasporas, AGNI 99 unites around bewilderment and the force of clarity—discovering how we landed here and acknowledging where we stand. Geography extends beyond the folio, in poems by Mosab Abu Toha and Mercè Rodoreda (trans. Rebecca Simpson); fiction by Steven Archer and Urvi Kumbhat; essays by Lia Purpura and Marion Winik; and more. Diego Isaias Hernández Méndez, Guatemala’s “accident painter,” sets the vivacity and tumble right in front of us, on the cover.
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
Editor at Large
Julia Brown
Julia Brown
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
Rachel Mennies
Dorsey Craft, Jenny George, Rachel Mennies
Newsletter Founder
Alison Lanier
Alison Lanier
Newsletter Introductions
Arielle Kaplan
Arielle Kaplan
Social (Facebook)
Effie Sapuridis
Effie Sapuridis
Blog Assistant
Cynthia Ayeza
Cynthia Ayeza
Social (X)
Esteban Rodriguez
Arielle Kaplan
Esteban Rodriguez, Arielle Kaplan
Social (Instagram)
Rachel Dillon
Rachel Dillon
Editorial Assistants
Elizabeth Callahan
Cerissa DiValentino
Katie Priest
Louise Moran
Gene Wang
Ifeanyi Ekpunobi
Cynthia Ayeza
Elizabeth Callahan, Cerissa DiValentino, Katie Priest, Louise Moran, Gene Wang, Ifeanyi Ekpunobi, Cynthia Ayeza
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 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
Gian Lombardo / Quale Press