America was a country dreamed up by religious fanatics and realized through violence. Philip Roth...

‘I was alone driving from the East Coast of Florida to Joshua Tree, in California. That was a normal thing to do after a breakup.’

‘My parents let other / People change my diaper, Nelson told him, / And now, I think, they should not have done / That.’ Three poems by Patricia Lockwood.

‘As a child I knew little about my father’s writing. He was just an amiable fellow sitting off to one side of our living room banging away at an old Underwood typewriter.’ Dan Hofstadter on family…

‘I was alone driving from the East Coast of Florida to Joshua Tree, in California. That was a normal thing to do after a breakup.’

‘The author claims that “bodies / don’t bury themselves” / but the late ’90s taught me / otherwise.' A poem by Michael Robbins.

‘As a child I knew little about my father’s writing. He was just an amiable fellow sitting off to one side of our living room banging away at an old Underwood typewriter.’ Dan Hofstadter on family…

‘Imagine ruining your life, / I thought, / the ecstasy of that.’ Two poems by Maggie Millner.

‘I was the honest broker, a role I treated with reverence. My people understood that even though I wasn’t “technical”, I was one of them.’ Fiction by Hansen Shi.

‘Two men stood on the street – good enough for me. “And do you consider yourselves socialist or not?” I inquired.’ William T. Vollmann visits Cuba.

‘The man came away feeling bruised. Yet another shrink was walking around town and knew all about him, the worst and most shameful parts.’ Fiction by John Jeremiah Sullivan.

‘She really did not know what to think about any of this. And still she had to walk through it. A lot of it.’ Fiction by Mary Gaitskill.

‘I was alone driving from the East Coast of Florida to Joshua Tree, in California. That was a normal thing to do after a breakup.’

‘Imagine ruining your life, / I thought, / the ecstasy of that.’ Two poems by Maggie Millner.

‘The author claims that “bodies / don’t bury themselves” / but the late ’90s taught me / otherwise.' A poem by Michael Robbins.

‘I was the honest broker, a role I treated with reverence. My people understood that even though I wasn’t “technical”, I was one of them.’ Fiction by Hansen Shi.

‘I was alone driving from the East Coast of Florida to Joshua Tree, in California. That was a normal thing to do after a breakup.’

‘My parents let other / People change my diaper, Nelson told him, / And now, I think, they should not have done / That.’ Three poems by Patricia Lockwood.

‘Imagine ruining your life, / I thought, / the ecstasy of that.’ Two poems by Maggie Millner.

‘She really did not know what to think about any of this. And still she had to walk through it. A lot of it.’ Fiction by Mary Gaitskill.

‘I was alone driving from the East Coast of Florida to Joshua Tree, in California. That was a normal thing to do after a breakup.’

‘I was the honest broker, a role I treated with reverence. My people understood that even though I wasn’t “technical”, I was one of them.’ Fiction by Hansen Shi.

‘The author claims that “bodies / don’t bury themselves” / but the late ’90s taught me / otherwise.' A poem by Michael Robbins.

‘He explained that he hadn’t wanted to buy the branded Trump iPhone, but it had briefly seemed like everyone in Washington was expected to purchase one.’ Antonia Hitchens visits Washington, D.C.

‘A man has spent his happy life / Shooting an apple off the top of the head of his lovely wife / But every time missing, / Even using a shotgun’ Three poems by Frederick Seidel.

‘She really did not know what to think about any of this. And still she had to walk through it. A lot of it.’ Fiction by Mary Gaitskill.

‘The author claims that “bodies / don’t bury themselves” / but the late ’90s taught me / otherwise.' A poem by Michael Robbins.

‘I was the honest broker, a role I treated with reverence. My people understood that even though I wasn’t “technical”, I was one of them.’ Fiction by Hansen Shi.

‘He explained that he hadn’t wanted to buy the branded Trump iPhone, but it had briefly seemed like everyone in Washington was expected to purchase one.’ Antonia Hitchens visits Washington, D.C.

‘The man came away feeling bruised. Yet another shrink was walking around town and knew all about him, the worst and most shameful parts.’ Fiction by John Jeremiah Sullivan.

‘Opening lines delivered on the apps frequently began with “lift UP the cap and let me see”. Or “Is that your bitch?”’ A short story by Halle Hill.

‘She really did not know what to think about any of this. And still she had to walk through it. A lot of it.’ Fiction by Mary Gaitskill.

‘He said he’d met the leader of Mars, whose title was “Dar”. I doubted this because why would the leader of Mars meet a normal guy?’ Tao Lin meets a ‘working astrologer’.

‘I got into the cart, turned it on, felt the hum. Waved at the guards. They fell back, hands folded at their groins.’ Fiction by Amie Barrodale.

‘It comes from within the American experience; it is a force without direction, a desire without a clear objective.’ Thomas Meaney on the American Berserk.

America was a country dreamed up by religious fanatics and realized through violence. Philip Roth...

‘The man came away feeling bruised. Yet another shrink was walking around town and knew all about him, the worst and most shameful parts.’ Fiction by John Jeremiah Sullivan.

‘Yes right no definitely, says a man on the sidewalk; a saw roars; a saw shrieks; a hammer pounds; a car goes by; a car goes by; a car goes by’ Fiction by Kathryn Scanlan.

‘She really did not know what to think about any of this. And still she had to walk through it. A lot of it.’ Fiction by Mary Gaitskill.

‘He placed family portraits alongside a newspaper clipping recording the murder of his mother’s boyfriend.’ Ciarán Finlayson introduces Zora J Murff’s photography and collage.

‘He said he’d met the leader of Mars, whose title was “Dar”. I doubted this because why would the leader of Mars meet a normal guy?’ Tao Lin meets a ‘working astrologer’.

‘Yes right no definitely, says a man on the sidewalk; a saw roars; a saw shrieks; a hammer pounds; a car goes by; a car goes by; a car goes by’ Fiction by Kathryn Scanlan.

‘My parents let other / People change my diaper, Nelson told him, / And now, I think, they should not have done / That.’ Three poems by Patricia Lockwood.

‘It comes from within the American experience; it is a force without direction, a desire without a clear objective.’ Thomas Meaney on the American Berserk.

‘The man came away feeling bruised. Yet another shrink was walking around town and knew all about him, the worst and most shameful parts.’ Fiction by John Jeremiah Sullivan.

‘Opening lines delivered on the apps frequently began with “lift UP the cap and let me see”. Or “Is that your bitch?”’ A short story by Halle Hill.