Pria Anand

The Elephant’s Child

PRIA ANAND
At the edge of the circle was the elephant’s child, craning to see the bones. His hide was fragile, his ears wispy. The elephant’s child did not yet know to grieve. He had the eyes of a human, and he shed no tears. He was incomplete, Shiva thought, only partially formed.

Two people sitting next to each other in front of a house, holding textiles.

Raffia Memory

LILY LLOYD BURKHALTER
By this point, Albert was holding my shoulders in a tight grip. Neither of us spoke. In the museum’s subdued light, time sputtered to a halt—as it must have for the boy years ago, facing down the snake or the village elder, depending on what one believes.  

A photograph of leaves and berries

Ode to Mitski 

WILLIAM FARGASON
while driving today     to pick up groceries / I drive over     the bridge where it would be  / so easy to drive     right off     the water  / a blanket to lay over     my head     its fevers  / I do want to live     most days     but today / I don’t     I could     let go of the wheel  

dispatch from lebanon, 2023

GHINWA JAWHARI
my dear: after the noise & flash of beirut, at last we are collecting ourselves for a short while in the mountains: the district of mtein, where my partner’s grandparents have built an enormous, open home meant for hosting grandchildren.

Cover of Theory & Practice by Michelle de Krester

Review: Theory and Practice by Michelle de Kretser

AMBER RUTH PAULEN
One of the brilliances of Michelle de Kretser’s newest novel Theory and Practice is how the author lassoes life’s “messy truths” into a neat and slim book. To do so, de Kretser asks many questions at once: How does shame lead to silence? Why write? What to feel when an idol falls from grace?

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