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The Common

@commonmag.bsky.social
1.5K followers 823 following 994 posts

The Common is a print and online literary magazine publishing stories, essays, poetry, and art with a modern sense of place. Based at Amherst College, we highlight writers and work from around the world.

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The Common @commonmag.bsky.social · 3h
"And it hurts: most days since my face fell down, I’ve felt a Funeral, in my Brain." Through the poetry of Emily Dickinson, Therese Gleason reckons with a diagnosis and the uncertain path of healing. Read our latest dispatch at the link below! buff.ly/aNd3oxq
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Six Months After My Bell’s Palsy Diagnosis, I Consider the Meaning of ‘Fallow’ in Emily Dickinson’s Garden
THERESE GLEASON <br> Half of Emily’s autumnal garden is sunlit at midmorning, but the little apple and pear trees in the orchard down the hill are shrouded in shadow, and I think of my face as…
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The Common @commonmag.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
"Your letter and your story I have clung to as to an overturned canoe." What Clever Friends: The Selected Letters Between Jane Kenyon and Alice Mattison is a testament to the artistic and academic energy buoyed by these two poets. Read an excerpt from this new book below! buff.ly/q1PPqfd
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Excerpt from What Clever Friends: The Selected Letters Between Jane Kenyon and Alice Mattison
ALICE MATTISON <br> It may be that you are writing well and, being in depression, can’t tell. It may be that people in depression cannot write well, just as people with sore throats cannot go to the…
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The Common @commonmag.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
"As I read, a distinct feeling arises in me that meaning’s gotten lost in the maze of time" Aidan Cooper reviews Wyatt Townley's frenetic new poetry collection, Making the Turn. Check it out at the link below! buff.ly/8k8tDvw
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Dancing on the Ceiling: Meaning Movement in Wyatt Townley’s Making the Turn
AIDAN COOPER <br> Perhaps “Wedding Vows” epitomizes Making the Turn: a falling that becomes, or rather makes itself known as, falling together. It considers surrendering control and finding oneself…
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The Common @commonmag.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
"a compelling and earnest contemplation of immigration and race, one that embodies Mysore’s signature duality as it swings from explicit and more familiar commentary to something funnier and more singular." Michelle Donahue reviews "Let All Our Ghosts Depart" by Meghana Mysore: buff.ly/4v8LVHk
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Places Between: The Many Hauntings in Let All Our Ghosts Depart by Meghana Mysore
The writing here is lyric and effortless, an evocative rendering of both place and character. It is in moments like this that Mysore so excels as a writer and makes this collection a necessary read…
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The Common @commonmag.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
In our most recent podcast episode, Liz DeWolf explains how Annie Ernaux and a metro project came to inspire her Issue 31 story, "Ex Situ." Be sure to give it a listen using the link below!
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Podcast: Liz DeWolf on "Ex Situ"
LIZ DEWOLF <br> Liz DeWolf speaks to Emily Everett about her story “Ex Situ,” which appear in The Common’s spring issue. The story follows an American living in Istanbul, navigating the end of a…
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The Common @commonmag.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
In our latest podcast episode, Issue 31 contributor Liz DeWolf discusses her must-read story "Ex Situ," writing about living abroad, and her experience editing nonfiction. Check it out below!
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Podcast: Liz DeWolf on "Ex Situ"
LIZ DEWOLF <br> Liz DeWolf speaks to Emily Everett about her story “Ex Situ,” which appear in The Common’s spring issue. The story follows an American living in Istanbul, navigating the end of a…
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The Common @commonmag.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Our fall submissions are open! To address any questions and make the process more accessible, we've compiled a short "Did You Know?" info page. Want to learn more about reading times or acceptance rates? Read more at the link below! buff.ly/5iUEhO4
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Submission Opportunities at The Common!
Here at The Common, we understand that supporting a diverse exchange of ideas goes hand in hand with making the publishing world more accessible. As such, we’ve compiled a list of information and…
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The Common @commonmag.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
"When I write a book that receives nothing but rave reviews, I get a little suspicious— does this mean I’ve lost my edge? Part of me will always believe I’m not doing my job to the fullest unless I’m alienating some readers." Read the full interview with Daniel Kraus below! buff.ly/yzLgMXr
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The Post-Pulitzer Rush: Becky Siegel Spratford interviews Daniel Kraus
DANIEL KRAUS <br> When sales flagged, I'd simply have to write myself out of author jail. I'd have to write something so good that the publishers would be like, “yeah, we can't *not* give this guy a…
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The Common @commonmag.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
"were you where you left yourself? / and who was left? / was anyone left?" Our September's Poetry Feature brings you haunting new work from Brionne Janae, Gray Davidson Carroll, and Wilbert Turner III. Check it out below! buff.ly/7gvbZ6w
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September 2026 Poetry Feature
BRIONNE JANAE <br> and on returning what state did you find it in? / as in what state were you in? / were you where you left yourself? / and who was left? / was anyone left?
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The Common @commonmag.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
"I couldn’t smile, blink, or cry—the nerve damage prevented tears from forming, made my cornea brittle and dry." In the wake of a life-altering diagnosis, Therese Gleason contemplates her journey in the words and backyard of a poet. Read our latest dispatch below! buff.ly/ISYOff6
thecommononline.org
Six Months After My Bell’s Palsy Diagnosis, I Consider the Meaning of ‘Fallow’ in Emily Dickinson’s Garden
THERESE GLEASON <br> Half of Emily’s autumnal garden is sunlit at midmorning, but the little apple and pear trees in the orchard down the hill are shrouded in shadow, and I think of my face as…
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The Common @commonmag.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
"an incisive commentary on how communities construct collective realities as a defense mechanism against trauma and marginalization." Britta Stromeyer reviews "St. Ulphia's Dead," an absurdist psychological thriller by debut novelist Scott Lambridis. Don't miss it! buff.ly/FRRigkS
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Review: St. Ulphia’s Dead by By Scott Lambridis
BRITTA STROMEYER <br> Lambridis offers an incisive commentary on how communities construct collective realities as a defense mechanism against trauma and marginalization, suggesting that our…
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The Common @commonmag.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
"You never write trivial poems and I’m sure 'Yard Sale' is not just about old furniture but about significant human stuff, as are all your poems." Jane Kenyon and Alice Mattison come alive in their correspondence, and now you can read an excerpt of What Clever Friends below. buff.ly/q1PPqfd
thecommononline.org
Excerpt from What Clever Friends: The Selected Letters Between Jane Kenyon and Alice Mattison
ALICE MATTISON <br> It may be that you are writing well and, being in depression, can’t tell. It may be that people in depression cannot write well, just as people with sore throats cannot go to the…
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The Common @commonmag.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
"Three generations of women transform into rainbow squirrels in response to trauma ... A dead mother returns to her daughter in the form of a car at a repair shop." Michelle Donahue reviews "Let All Our Ghosts Depart" by Meghana Mysore: buff.ly/4v8LVHk
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Places Between: The Many Hauntings in Let All Our Ghosts Depart by Meghana Mysore
The writing here is lyric and effortless, an evocative rendering of both place and character. It is in moments like this that Mysore so excels as a writer and makes this collection a necessary read…
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The Common @commonmag.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
"When sales flagged, I’d simply have to write myself out of author jail. I’d have to write something so good that the publishers would be like, “yeah, we can’t *not* give this guy a chance in this new genre.” Read the full interview with Daniel Kraus below! buff.ly/yzLgMXr
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The Post-Pulitzer Rush: Becky Siegel Spratford interviews Daniel Kraus
DANIEL KRAUS <br> When sales flagged, I'd simply have to write myself out of author jail. I'd have to write something so good that the publishers would be like, “yeah, we can't *not* give this guy a…
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The Common @commonmag.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
With our fall submission period opening, we can't wait to read your work! However, we understand you may have questions about the process, from reading times to acceptance rates. We've compiled a short "Did You Know?" info page addressing frequent questions. Check it out below! buff.ly/asdGTXm
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Submission Opportunities at The Common!
Here at The Common, we understand that supporting a diverse exchange of ideas goes hand in hand with making the publishing world more accessible. As such, we’ve compiled a list of information and…
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The Common @commonmag.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
"Back home, the salt arrives before the sea. It rides on the evening wind, settles in your pores, and clings to the stone walls of the fort." Take a walk across the Galle Fort in Sri Lanka with Amaya Ranatunge in our newest dispatch!
thecommononline.org
The Wall Climbers
AMAYA RANATUNGE <br> Back home, the salt arrives before the sea. It rides on the evening wind, settles in your pores, and clings to the stone walls of the fort.
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The Common @commonmag.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
"Even if I could find a ride, there would be the question of what I was doing at a motel an hour from Curtisville, with Gary’s Grand Am parked conspicuously outside." Like what you read? You can find this excerpt from "Good Guys" by Mindy Misener (@mindymise) on our website below! buff.ly/dAutIm1
thecommononline.org
Holding On is Forever
Even if I could find a ride, there would be the question of what I was doing at a motel an hour from Curtisville, with Gary’s Grand Am parked conspicuously outside.
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The Common @commonmag.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
"a sharp satire of the human impulse to categorize, diagnose, and master the world’s enigmas—from mental illness and trauma to mortality itself." Britta Stromeyer reviews "St. Ulphia's Dead," a debut novel by Scott Lambridis. Don't miss it! buff.ly/FRRigkS
thecommononline.org
Review: St. Ulphia’s Dead by By Scott Lambridis
BRITTA STROMEYER <br> Lambridis offers an incisive commentary on how communities construct collective realities as a defense mechanism against trauma and marginalization, suggesting that our…
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The Common @commonmag.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
"Buoying the sadness that pervades the novella is Haushofer’s prose and Whiteside’s sharp translation." Brianna Beehler reviews Marlen Haushofer’s pastoral novel The Fifth Year, translated by Shaun Whiteside. Check it out at the link below! buff.ly/5M1kao6
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Review: The Fifth Year by Marlen Haushofer
Review by BRIANNA BEEHLER <br> When I was a child, I was afraid to go upstairs by myself at my grandparents’ house. At the top of the stairs was a print of Pablo Picasso’s 1937 painting, Weeping…
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The Common @commonmag.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
"I can only recall – or am I making it all up now, in the act of remembering? – the tone of his unhurried, almost raspy voice, his sour breath." So begins the interaction with the invisible in "Chupacabra" by Rodrigo Urquiola Flores. Read more of Shaina Brassard's translation now! buff.ly/vmj0wnI
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Chupacabra
RODRIGO URQUIOLA FLORES <br> I thought about the possibility of taking refuge, of living within a glorious repeating cycle. Pain and punishment were inevitable – just look at what became of the ants…
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The Common @commonmag.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
"I felt both alone and watched. I was definitely starting to feel sick. If the world were good and fair, someone would come for me now." Mindy Misener (@mindymise) shares an excerpt from her upcoming book, "Good Guys"! Check it out below: buff.ly/pvIj2BE
thecommononline.org
Holding On is Forever
Three times in my life I’ve called my sister for help. The first, I was at a motel almost an hour from Curtisville. Any closer, Gary said, and he might be recognized. Minutes earlier he’d left with his fake ID.
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The Common @commonmag.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
"We wall climbers were all experts in waiting—waiting for the salt, the sea, the sun, and a split second of satisfying awe at the end. " Check out our newest dispatch by Amaya Ranatunge from Galle, Sri Lanka!
thecommononline.org
The Wall Climbers
AMAYA RANATUNGE <br> Back home, the salt arrives before the sea. It rides on the evening wind, settles in your pores, and clings to the stone walls of the fort.
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The Common @commonmag.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
"But beneath these idyllic moments lies the constant presence of death." Brianna Beehler contemplates the pastoral in Marlen Haushofer’s "The Fifth Year," translated by Shaun Whiteside. Check out her review at the link below! buff.ly/EvNkSkh
thecommononline.org
Review: The Fifth Year by Marlen Haushofer
Review by BRIANNA BEEHLER <br> When I was a child, I was afraid to go upstairs by myself at my grandparents’ house. At the top of the stairs was a print of Pablo Picasso’s 1937 painting, Weeping…
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The Common @commonmag.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Lakeer, a literary journal promoting creative voices from Pakistan and its diaspora, is hosting Voices Across Borders: Who Gets Represented on September 20, from 9-11 am EST! The event is a virtual panel discussion/reading by exciting voices in South Asian writing. Tickets below! buff.ly/V4G6tQW
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The Common @commonmag.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
"And never forget: the Tyrant time reached others before you—they too weathered the deluge of its tempest-strewn path." Ellen Hinsey's Anatomy of the Eclipse sings with Marcus Wicker's Dear Mothership in this month's poetry feature. Swim the cosmos of these forthcoming books below! buff.ly/F2OzT9T
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August Poetry Feature
ELLEN HINSEY <br> Do not permit the dismantling of the house of your compassion. Even if its columns are besieged: it is a fortress that stands each day it is affirmed anew.
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The Common @commonmag.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
"In the beginning was the Chupacabra. And some god saw that it was good." "Chupacabra" by Rodrigo Urquiola Flores transports the reader to the windswept city of La Paz, Bolivia, when conversation and media coverage obsessed over the mysterious and feared creature. Read below! buff.ly/vmj0wnI
thecommononline.org
Chupacabra
RODRIGO URQUIOLA FLORES <br> I thought about the possibility of taking refuge, of living within a glorious repeating cycle. Pain and punishment were inevitable – just look at what became of the ants…
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The Common @commonmag.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
"From my bed in Montreal, I have lost a part of me. I have lost a friend, a presence that was forever." A place comes and recedes for Lys Granier, whose newest dispatch considers grief as both a familial and an environmental phenomenon. Read it below! buff.ly/DLFPFKU
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Mon Petit Bois
LYS GRANIER <br> I threw a handful of road gravel in the tiny stream every time I crossed the bridge.The wood where I pictured my dad reincarnated as a fox. Where we had to wear red and be loud…
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The Common @commonmag.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
"That's very human, we panic and act. Only afterward do we realize that maybe it wasn't the best decision. For most of us, that doesn't turn us into an international fugitive." Read Yu-Mei Balasingamchow's interview with Kanchi Sharma about her new novel, Names Have Been Changed! buff.ly/uVgP5RO
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The Common @commonmag.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
For our most recent podcast, Lauren Delapenha cracks open her writing process with Emily Everett. Listen to this amazing Issue 31 contributor read and reveal her astounding poems below! buff.ly/KdbPR3A
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The Common @commonmag.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
"I left feeling more primeval—in the face of such an altered landscape, so crowded with human handprints—than I could’ve imagined." Katy Simpson Smith's newest essay, "The Loneliest Island," considers love and connection on one of the most isolated places on Earth. Read now! buff.ly/ZMAtLQ5
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The Loneliest Island
KATY SIMPSON SMITH <br> "We adventurers stared out over the red sand beach and over to the far cliffs and up the valley and all the way out across the unknowable sea. I imagined the Neolithic…
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The Common @commonmag.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
"We let slow care dam the murk; draw us close. / Who said the babbling brook was frivolous?" In our August Poetry Feature, two forthcoming books from Marcus Wicker and Ellen Hinsey dazzle and delight with their agile lines. Read excerpts from them below! buff.ly/o8WBhhr
thecommononline.org
August Poetry Feature
ELLEN HINSEY <br> Do not permit the dismantling of the house of your compassion. Even if its columns are besieged: it is a fortress that stands each day it is affirmed anew.
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The Common @commonmag.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
"The book is constructed like a piece of Shaker furniture. The point-of-view shifts throughout the book dovetail so smoothly that readers wouldn’t feel a joint if they could touch them." Julia Lichtblau reviews "The Fall-Down Effect" and "Field Notes from an Extinction." Check it out here!
thecommononline.org
What It Takes To Save the Trees and the Birds: Review of The Fall-Down Effect and Field Notes from an Extinction
Review by Julia Lichtblau <br> The story is told through several narrative devices, primarily Green’s notebook entries, interspersed with newspaper clippings, which feed the mystery at the center of…
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The Common @commonmag.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
"I feel such an immense sense of loss. This wood was my escape. It was where I learned to see, to really see. Where my dad taught me the scientific names of plants." Lys Graneir gives a chant to days gone by through the lushness of a forested vista. Read our newest dispatch below! buff.ly/CFZ3Brn
thecommononline.org
Mon Petit Bois
LYS GRANIER <br> I threw a handful of road gravel in the tiny stream every time I crossed the bridge.The wood where I pictured my dad reincarnated as a fox. Where we had to wear red and be loud…
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The Common @commonmag.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
"The trembling rose, traveling from Baleia's stomach to her chest. From her bosom to her back, everything was numbness and forgetting." Graciliano Ramos' "Beleia" follows a dog through her final moments in a hostile world. Read Camila Massaki Gomes's masterful translation below. buff.ly/Q1RsjEo
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Baleia
GRACILIANO RAMOS <br> "She couldn’t bite Fabiano: she had been born next to him, in a small bed-chamber, on top of the wooden cot, and had spent her entire existence in submission to him, yapping and…
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The Common @commonmag.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
"It was interesting to explore the many reasons people leave home, which today's discourse tends to flatten into being an 'immigrant' or 'migrant.'" In her interview with Kanchi Sharma, Yu-Mei Balsingamchow discusses her latest novel, Names Have Been Changed. Link below! buff.ly/AyvdRLh
thecommononline.org
Fluent in Disappearing: Kanchi Sharma Interviews Yu-Mei Balasingamchow
YU-MEI BALASINGAMCHOW <br> It was interesting to explore the many reasons people leave home, which today's discourse tends to flatten into being an "immigrant" or "migrant," as if it's simply about…
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The Common @commonmag.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
"I came on vacation as a single woman, not sculpted, not looking for love, merely drawn by what I perceived as oddness." Let Katy Simpson Smith lead you across the rocky cliffs and frigid waters of the Mediterranean in her newest essay, "The Loneliest Island." Read it below! buff.ly/StFqtkM
thecommononline.org
The Loneliest Island
KATY SIMPSON SMITH <br> "We adventurers stared out over the red sand beach and over to the far cliffs and up the valley and all the way out across the unknowable sea. I imagined the Neolithic…
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The Common @commonmag.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
"banalities poured in someone's cigarette smoke / already sand in an hourglass / outside, others lining up for their turn / but it died the simplest Y2K death" Ana Prundaru writes from Konstanz and Maastricht in our newest dispatches. Read them below!
thecommononline.org
Dispatches from Konstanz and Maastricht
ANA PRUNDARU <br> here is a lesson in grieving the past / a tiny fit of existentialism / say it was converted to a tiny pub / it was the nineties, remember?
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The Common @commonmag.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
"What’s one species, they say, compared to my precious convenience? Trees and birds do their bit for the ecosystem merely by existing." Julia Lichtblau reviews "The Fall-Down Effect" by Liz Johnston and "Field Notes from an Extinction" by Eoghan Walls. Read it below!
thecommononline.org
What It Takes To Save the Trees and the Birds: Review of The Fall-Down Effect and Field Notes from an Extinction
Review by Julia Lichtblau <br> The story is told through several narrative devices, primarily Green’s notebook entries, interspersed with newspaper clippings, which feed the mystery at the center of…
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The Common @commonmag.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
"They'd seen the shot-pouch and the gunpowder. Fabiano's moods afflicted them, led them to suspect that Baleia was in deep trouble." See the underworld through a dog's eyes in Graciliano Ramos's story "Baleia," translated by Camila Massaki Gomes, one of our editorial assistants! buff.ly/V6Qtos9
thecommononline.org
Baleia
GRACILIANO RAMOS <br> "She couldn’t bite Fabiano: she had been born next to him, in a small bed-chamber, on top of the wooden cot, and had spent her entire existence in submission to him, yapping and…
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The Common @commonmag.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Poet Lauren Delapenha reads “Supermarketing” from Issue 31. Hear her read two more poems from The Common and discuss her process on the TC podcast - link in bio or wherever you get podcasts!
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The Common @commonmag.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
"I think there’s a reclamation of the queer pastoral through this feeling of belonging. I know this place so well. My body lives here and is part of this land. I can name those trees, rivers, and flowers." Check out Sarah Audsley interviewing Eve Alexandra on her second poetry collection!
thecommononline.org
Other Pastorals: Sarah Audsley interviews Eve Alexandra
EVE ALEXANDRA <br> I think there’s a reclamation of the queer pastoral through this feeling of belonging. I know this place so well. My body lives here and is part of this land. I can name those…
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The Common @commonmag.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Issue 31 contributor Lauren Delapenha is our podcast guest this week! Ranging from Walt Whitman to Spider-Man, this is a conversation you won't want to miss. Check it out below! buff.ly/RF6UwcL
thecommononline.org
Podcast: Lauren Delapenha on "Supermarketing"
LAUREN DELAPENHA <br> Lauren Delapenha speaks to Emily Everett about her poems “Supermarketing” and “If You Are Learning English,” which appear in The Common’s spring issue. Lauren also discusses her…
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The Common @commonmag.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
"It's about women and seasons, communal dreams and private heartaches. It's a tale that sings. It's a song that holds tales, memories, and voices of those who carry them all.” Check out Bishnupriya's translation of "Khanandihi" by Shatadal Mitra below! buff.ly/oTENIlg
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Excerpts from “Khanandihi” – A Translation
The following is a translated excerpt of the Bengali novel titled Khanandihi, by Shatadal Mitra tells the story of the Bengal village of Khanyadi, through its people, myths, spirits and history, floating, living, murmuring in the endless flow of time.
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The Common @commonmag.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
"the cacophony of carols outside / and books piling next to a blur of pastries / over the courtyard's uncut grass" Check out our newest dispatches by Ana Prundaru from Konstanz and Maastricht!
thecommononline.org
Dispatches from Konstanz and Maastricht
ANA PRUNDARU <br> here is a lesson in grieving the past / a tiny fit of existentialism / say it was converted to a tiny pub / it was the nineties, remember?
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The Common @commonmag.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
"It’s not that my unease with the pastoral suddenly evaporated, but I identified with the landscape and was comforted by its small beauties." Sarah Audsley interviews Eve Alexandra on her second poetry collection "None of Us in White." Check it out below!
thecommononline.org
Other Pastorals: Sarah Audsley interviews Eve Alexandra
EVE ALEXANDRA <br> I think there’s a reclamation of the queer pastoral through this feeling of belonging. I know this place so well. My body lives here and is part of this land. I can name those…
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The Common @commonmag.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
"Authentic, not authentic, for children, messy meal: / It’s a necessity for me, like iced coffee, // like southern California sunshine, / like fog and rain come winter." Jose Hernandez Diaz's "Ode to Chicken Quesadillas" shines in July's Poetry Feature! Read it below: buff.ly/url8bJJ
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The Common @commonmag.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
"'Khanandihi' tells the story of a quintessential Bengal village...It is about humans and their small lives that, when woven together, become infinite and mythical." Make sure to check out Bishnupriya's beautiful translation of "Khanandihi" by Shatadal Mitra below! buff.ly/Pq9m3wA
thecommononline.org
Excerpts from “Khanandihi” – A Translation
The following is a translated excerpt of the Bengali novel titled Khanandihi, by Shatadal Mitra tells the story of the Bengal village of Khanyadi, through its people, myths, spirits and history, floating, living, murmuring in the endless flow of time...
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The Common @commonmag.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
"In a place of comings and goings—papery leaves, swallow migrations, wind currents—I was rooted to the soil." Aidan Cahill's dispatch "An Exercise in Loneliness" studies how a nature preserve offered salvation in his past.
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An Exercise in Loneliness
AIDAN CAHILL <br> It would seem the Earth is always in flux, whether it be the monthly succumbings of the cabbage white butterflies or the water with its winter sleep, yet for the longest time I had…
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The Common @commonmag.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Kenan Orhan, a past contributor of The Common, was recently longlisted for the Booker Prize! Please join us in celebrating him on this remarkable achievement! His Issue 14 story, Into Air, is linked below:
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Into Air
KENAN ORHAN<br> In Ivan’s bedroom are forty-seven photographs of beaches, rectangles of sand and sun. I count them every time I visit my friend, and he kisses them like beautiful women each night. He…
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The Common @commonmag.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
"The narrator grapples with her language and identity, exposing the painful betrayal of belonging for those who exist on the fringes of two cultural worlds." Britta Strombeyer reviews Egana Djabbarova’s "My Dreadful Body." Read it below!
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Egana Djabbarova’s My Dreadful Body: Exploring the Wounded Self and Belonging in Azerbaijani Diaspora Literature
Review by BRITTA STROMEYER <br> Divided into eleven chapters named after body parts, the novel’s structure claims the female body as a battleground for cultural and personal struggles, using…
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