Arts in the Time of Quarantine

The Virus Has Seized the Means of Production

Virology is often confused with the invisible workings of capital.

  • Mark Bould

Solidarity Through Poetry

When Celes Tisdale led poetry workshops at Attica State Prison, soon after the 1971 uprising, some of the prisoners were still recovering from gunshots.

  • Mark Nowak

Another Way to Love This World

In a wrenching dialogue, a man searches for human connection, even as he recalls childhood abuse. Translated from the French by Amanda DeMarco.

  • Abdellah Taïa

Chapati Recipe

“Pinch off fist-sized balls and roll these into flat circles. Circles you turned in the morning of the coup.” Short Story

  • Noel Cheruto

Meniscus

“'I felt no hunger but the habit of food struck me intensely. My nightgown was grubby and torn. My limbs were scraped, spotted with yellow bruises, but I felt no pain.” Short Story

  • Theo Costantino

A Dispensable Woman

An aging Nigerian bus park preacher dreams of her own church, or even just a shiny megaphone, when she finds herself cut off from her congregation. Short Story

  • Kechi Nomu

Sign up for our newsletter

Mercy Hours

On being awestruck by literature, and the necessary pleasures of intimacy—near and remote—during quarantine.

  • Peter Coviello

Two

Two orphans, who believe they are too old to ever be adopted, get a surprise chance. Translated from the Hebrew by Yaron Regev. Short Story

  • Sagit Emet

When the Climate Changed

A man seeks intimacy during a time of crisis. 

  • Samuel R. Delany

All We Remember Will Be Forgotten

When bees around the world exhibit a frightening new behavior, a researcher takes comfort in a familiar hive. Short Story

  • JR Fenn

What Used to Be Caracas

Years after an extinction event nearly wiped out humanity, a team of scientists search Venezuela for signs of life and evidence of what caused the tragedy. Short Story

  • Mike McClelland

People Who Report More Stress

Beating cancer should be the biggest challenge in his life, not trying to catch a cab in Manhattan. Short Story

  • Alejandro Varela

Memoirs of an Imaginary Country

In a lost tale of Casanova, the citizens of a country at the center of the Earth must give up their home—and their women—to colonizers. Short Story

  • Maria Dahvana Headley

Adora

An aging AI researcher, alone with her robot companion, must make a difficult decision when the android begins to malfunction. Short Story

  • Sumudu Samarawickrama

Communism Doesn’t Work

Stuck in an apartment with his ex-boyfriend, a man meets with the government agent who will decide whether the couple has really broken up. Short Story

  • Jack Gain

Cannibal Acts

In the aftermath of a flu pandemic that kills most of the population, a survivor, barricaded in Alaska, remembers her life while contemplating a grisly choice. Short Story

  • Maureen F. McHugh
trending_flat
Get our newsletter

Vital reading on politics, ideas, and culture to your inbox

A political and literary forum, independent and nonprofit since 1975

Registered 501(c)(3) organization

Help Us Stay Paywall-Free

Donate

Become a Member

Subscribe