Fiction & Poetry

The poet joins Kevin Young to read and discuss “I have slept in many places, for years on mattresses that entered,” by Diane Seuss, and his own poem “This Is a Test of the Federal Emergency Management Agency Wireless Warning System.”

“The year, that year, had been especially / cruel. Sickness and war.”

“I was not alone, that much I know, / though no one was with me.”

The prosecutor spoke without emotion: “Your father’s been charged with espionage. Spying under orders from the North Korean puppet regime.”

Re ’24: Let’s not forget / We’re all in brave Navalny’s debt. / He showed a soul can still be free / Whatever its surroundings be.

“ ‘Unrest’ suggests the sleeplessness that turns / A burning saint upon a brazier bed.”

For the first time, Gabriel accepted that this privilege was in his possession. He had taken his place at the table.

The author reads her story from the December 23, 2024, issue of the magazine.

“I really wish people / would dance at receptions.”

“ ‘Your heart is photogenic, but it’s shy,’ the nurse / announces.”