Arts in Society
Boston Review’s Arts in Society section publishes poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and criticism. It focuses on how the arts loosen the hold of convention, bear witness to injustice, provoke new ways of seeing the world, and speak to the most pressing political and civic concerns of our time.
Browse by Genre
Criticism, Poem, Memoir, Short Story
Browse Criticism by Topic
Teaching African American Literature During COVID-19
“In a season of unimaginable death, my students emerged as visionaries. I hope to live to see the world they create.”
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.
What Would Boccaccio Say About COVID-19?
The Florentine humanist’s description of the Black Death in the Decameron remains one of the most thoughtful accounts of a society living under a pandemic.
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.
Chapati Recipe
“Pinch off fist-sized balls and roll these into flat circles. Circles you turned in the morning of the coup.” Short Story
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
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
Mercy Hours
On being awestruck by literature, and the necessary pleasures of intimacy—near and remote—during quarantine.
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
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
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
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
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
The Plots Against America
Alternate histories like Philip Roth’s force us to imagine a different America.
Adora
An aging AI researcher, alone with her robot companion, must make a difficult decision when the android begins to malfunction. Short Story
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
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