If I shed one tear, I might become Alice, swimming in an ocean of my tears.
By Yiyun Li
Essays & Criticism
Books
Our Love-Hate Relationship with Gimmicks
Why is the same word used to describe the harmless enchantments of literary technique and the cruel buffoonery of contemporary political and economic life?
By Merve Emre
Under Review
The Professor and the Politician
For Max Weber, only the most heroic figures could generate meaning in the world. Does his theory hold up today?
By Corey Robin
Books
Briefly Noted
“The Silence,” “A Lover’s Discourse,” “A World Beneath the Sands,” and “Grieving.”
Poetry
Poems
“Ways of Being Lonely”
“Like a haunted river no bridge wants to lay itself down over.”
By Kim Addonizio
Poems
“Spumante”
“There’s thirst for music in this less than solid / state.”
By Colin Channer
The Writer’s Voice
The Writer’s Voice: Fiction from the Magazine
Rebecca Curtis Reads “Hansa and Gretyl and Piece of Shit”
The author reads her story from the November 16, 2020, issue of the magazine.
More from The New Yorker
The New Yorker Interview
Willie Nelson Understands
At eighty-seven, the musician knows what it’s like to lose a partner, your house, all your money, those big dreams.
By Amanda Petrusich
Podcast Dept.
The Secret Sounds of “Song Exploder”
We tend to have no idea how music is made. For nearly seven years, one series has supplied some answers.