Our Story

Photos of Yale University, and a cover of The Yale Review.

JOIN A CONVERSATION 200 YEARS IN THE MAKING. At The Yale Review, we believe in the power of connecting great minds across disciplines, backgrounds, and generations. As a renowned journal of literature and ideas, TYR has been privileged to publish both established names and rising literary talent, including Virginia Woolf, Robert Lowell, Thomas Mann, Bayard Rustin, Louise Glück, Adrienne Rich, José Ortega y Gassett, Joyce Carol Oates, James Merrill, Cathy Park Hong, Sheila Heti, and Namwali Serpell. Today, TYR continues to evolve under our new editor Meghan O’Rourke, an acclaimed poet, memoirist, and critic.

O’Rourke ushered TYR into its third century of publication by relaunching the magazine in May 2021 as a print and digital publication, with a new website that features original content as well as gems from TYR's incomparable archive. In late 2020, TYR also launched a new event series, TYR Talks, which has brought hundreds of new readers to the magazine. In the past year, we have seen our readership triple, and we look forward to growing our community even further as our presence expands online. The new TYR remains committed to a tradition of editorial excellence and painstaking curation, a site where readers can discover new literature by the best writers of our era alongside engaged, passionate criticism that is beautifully written and powerfully thought. With our new membership program, we hope to invite our readers into an inclusive community of people who care deeply about the written word.

Since its founding as The Christian Spectator in 1819, TYR has undergone many changes, becoming The New Englander in 1843 and taking on its current name in 1892. Its modern incarnation was established in 1911; over the past century its focus has shifted with each new editor, evolving from a journal of economics into a journal of literature and ideas. Throughout its illustrious history, though, it has continued to honor a tradition of excellence and intellectual adventure.

The founding editor of the modern TYR was the literary critic Wilbur Cross. Subsequent editors have included Helen MacAfee, David Morris Potter, Paul Pickrel, John J.E. Palmer, Kai Erikson, Penelope Laurans, Harold Augenbraum, and the poet and librettist J. D. McClatchy. Each editor built upon the journal’s rich heritage and continued to broaden its reach.

Under O'Rourke's leadership, TYR aims to discover a new generation of writers and thinkers. Committed to nurturing cross-disciplinary conversations, and pushing boundaries, we are proud to maintain our tradition as a forum for the dynamic exchange of ideas. We hope you’ll join us by becoming a member or subscribing today.


The editors of The Yale Review, its writers, and its readers are indebted to the following donors for their sustained and generous support.

The late Joseph F. Cullman III
The Estate of James I. Merrill
The Smart Family Foundation





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Editor
Meghan O’Rourke

Deputy Editor
Elliott Holt

Managing Editor
Will Frazier

Editorial Assistant
Sonia Gadre

Consulting Editors
Jill Pellettieri
James Surowiecki

Art Editor
Eugenia Bell

Senior Editors
David M. de León
Sam Huber
Rachel Mannheimer
Maggie Millner

Copy Editors
Susan Miller
Martin Schneider

Design Consultant
Pentagram

Editor at Large
Katie Kitamura

Contributing Editors
Eula Biss
Ama Codjoe
Roger Reeves
Phillip B. Williams

Assistant Editors
Kathy Chow
Jessikah Díaz
Chelsea Jack
Lacey Jones
Stephanie Kelley
Daniel Swain
Talin Tahajian

Undergraduate Fellows
Beasie Goddu
Jessica Liu
Maia Seigel
Christion Zappley
Isabella Zou

Editorial Board
Harold Augenbraum
Rizvana Bradley
David Bromwich
Gregory Crewdson
Richard Deming
Kai Erikson
Anne Fadiman
Emily Greenwood
Langdon Hammer
Dolores Hayden
Michael Kelleher
Noreen Khawaja
Nancy Kuhl
Joseph LaPalombara
Penelope Laurans
Marci Shore
Christian Wiman
John Witt
Timothy Young