Essays

Essays

Lessons of the Line

Charles Simic and me
Dana Levin
Essays

Ucky Art

Judith Scott, Eva Hesse, and the visceral power of "texxture"
Lauren Elkin
Essays

Unfathomable Life

As a philosopher, I thought I understood risk. Then I tried to get pregnant.
Anna Hartford
Essays

Spiritualism’s Shadows

On COVID-19 and false consolation
Alicia Puglionesi
Essays

Heat Maps

Desire in the dark
Alex Marzano-Lesnevich
Objects of Desire

Jars with Well-Fitting Lids

Seeing loss more clearly
Catherine Lacey

Browse

Essays

Image of COVID-19 virus. Graphic by Bianca Ibarlucea.
Pandemic Files

I Can’t Sleep

After days of witnessing racial violence, respite is no longer a given
Emily Bernard
June 15, 2020
Image of COVID-19 virus. Graphic by Bianca Ibarlucea.
Pandemic Files

How I Became a Prophetess

Joyelle McSweeney
June 9, 2020
Image of COVID-19 virus. Graphic by Bianca Ibarlucea.
Pandemic Files

Why Does Every Ad on TV Sound Exactly the Same?

How “In these uncertain times” became ad agencies’ favorite slogan
Ben Purkert
June 9, 2020
The author with her brother, 1999.
Essays

After My Brother

Finding the language of loss
Brianna Zimmerman
June 1, 2020
Photograph of clock at Grand Central Station. Robert Hoge / Creative Commons
Essays

Temps

The law of entropy and life as a fill-in employee, and girlfriend
Victoria Kornick
June 1, 2020
A Black woman raises her fist at a protest against police violence. Joyce by Miki J / Creative Commons
Essays

The Uses of Memory

Ecstasy in the midst of struggle
Roger Reeves
June 1, 2020
Image of COVID-19 virus. Graphic by Bianca Ibarlucea.
Pandemic Files

Lives or Livelihoods

Zimbabwe’s hospitals are woefully unequipped for the pandemic, but the nation’s citizens can’t afford to stay inside.
Khameer Kidia
May 20, 2020
Image of COVID-19 virus. Graphic by Bianca Ibarlucea.
Pandemic Files

The Profound Horror of the Mass Grave

If funerals show a society’s endurance, ours is coming apart
Kathryn Lofton
May 19, 2020
Image of COVID-19 virus. Graphic by Bianca Ibarlucea.
Pandemic Files

A Commencement Deferred

While sheltering in place, a graduating student reconnects with her immigrant family
Meghana Mysore
May 18, 2020
Pandemic Files

The Children Know

When my father died of AIDS, he couldn’t shield me from his pain
Emily Ziff Griffin
May 14, 2020