Inner Isolation
Does tragedy and loneliness make for good art? Labdhi Shah’s finger-painting series seeks to dive deeper into that question in the uncertain, confined context of the global pandemic
ophelia in black
Vamika Sinha poses questions of freedom and confinement through exploring a character who is so often caged by definitive endings
Visitor #60
Latest in our haiku column: a glimpse into visiting a family member in prison. Would you look back?
Plea
A conversation between cell mates, a lost child, and a pastor. Julie Ann Ward's new short story showcases uncertainty, loss, suspense, and a yearning for the what-could-have-beens
To Mr. Suri, With Love
A gentle letter for a violent story. Megha Nayar’s new fiction piece sifts through the debris of an abusive marriage
Prisoner
Go beyond the fence. Claudio Ericco’s photography series “Prisoner” asks what it means to be nurtured in a garden where the roots become your shackles
Poetry as the confession box
Danabelle Gutierrez invites us to read about the struggles of writing and of presenting yourself through “Poetry as the confession box,” thereby drawing us closer to understand this form of confinement
of luck
To turn back time, to yearn for different circumstances, to fragment a family…how do people change, and can life ever return to the way it was? Garreth Chan takes us on a journey where the body becomes a prison
Unravel
Their eyes are their resistance. “Unravel” dwells on the distinction among borders, maps, and identities, creating characters who confront the trauma of cultural and social injustice
Do You See Me?: Writing a World Without Cages
“Stories of incarceration are always stories about race, power, and inequity.” In this piece, editor-in-Chief Vamika Sinha shares an incisive discussion with her former boss, New Yorker journalist Daniel Gross. Thick and difficult like rope, Sinha’s writing raises questions on the ethics and struggles of engaging with prison literature
A Note from the Editors: Issue 31
Rinse at 30: An Interview with Yaz León
An exclusive interview and premiere of London-based soul artist Yaz León’s new single “Rinse at 30”
A Portrait of Innocence and Evil: Childhood Trauma in “The Devil’s Backbone”
For b-roll, Toby Le delves into Guillermo del Toro's 2001 film “The Devil’s Backbone,“ a portrait of growing up with toxic masculinity
hypothetically eight
This nostalgic poem paints an image of a mother laying her child to rest in more ways than one
Samir’s Story
An unnerving short story about two boys whose lives are transformed by the presence of djinn
من يعرف كيف يكون،2019
In this photo series, Aisha Al-Ali memorializes moments spent with her cousins and siblings in Ajman, UAE
Sorry I Have to Reschedule, I’m Preparing My Son’s Funeral
“Sorry I Have to Reschedule” explores a foggy soundscape of remembrance as the artist muses upon the premature death of childhood
Melon Cola
A poem bursting with surreal images of dolphins, swimming pools, and children “braiding each other’s eyelashes”
Galaxy of Dad
Eamon Doherty's portraits of his father and brother pay tribute to their impact on shaping Doherty’s childhood
Party For One: A Recipe for the Fragility of Adolescence
Antithetical to our usual conceptions of birthday parties, Manya Sinha's photography explores and uncovers the anxiety of getting older. The artist is "cooked" as childhood slips away