@commonmag.bsky.social
The Common is a print and online literary magazine publishing stories, essays, poetry, and art with a modern sense of place. Based at Amherst College, we highlight writers and work from around the world.
@commonmag.bsky.socialLiz DeWolf discusses language and belonging in her story “Ex Situ” (set in Istanbul), from Issue 31. Full podcast link in bio, or search ‘The Common magazine’ wherever you get podcasts.
@commonmag.bsky.social"I lie on the bed and think about nothing, the sound of the gunshots reverberating in my head. After an hour or so, I’ll find myself standing again by the bookshelves, pulling out one of the Twenty-Four Histories."
"The Messengers," by Zhu Yue, trans. Alyssa Asquith & Jianan Qian:
@commonmag.bsky.socialAn essay from Kristen Millares Young on chasing the Roman cult mother goddess, Cybele, from Galicia to the archives of the Louvre. It aligns with Millares Young's forthcoming memoir, Desire Lines, out this week.
Read it below:
buff.ly/2HMHof9
@commonmag.bsky.socialTwo contributors to The Common were longlisted for the National Book Award! Congratulations to poet Richie Hofmann (The Bronze Arms) and novelist Kenan Orhan (The Renovation)!
Links to their pieces in The Common and to the longlists:
@commonmag.bsky.socialMasters of Sleep and Other Stories by Surrealist author Zhu Yue, translated by Jianan Qian and Alyssa Asquith, was published by Accent Edition this past summer! The anthology features some of Zhu’s most cerebral and critically-acclaimed stories.
Preorder the book here: buff.ly/LBvQucQ
@commonmag.bsky.social"Falling is an art that constantly recurs, redirects, and finds in the force of moving some give in gravity itself."
Literary Editorial Fellow Aidan Cooper reviews Making the Turn, a kinetic and eclectic poetry collection by Wyatt Townley. Read it at the link below!
@commonmag.bsky.socialWe are thrilled to announce that “The Hare,” written by Ismael Ramos and translated by Jacob Rogers, and “Inês” by João Pedro Vala have been selected for the O. Henry Prize for 2026 Short Fiction! Both works were originally published in The Common Online in 2025.
Learn more:
@commonmag.bsky.social“Marriage is like a fortress besieged: those who are outside want to get in, and those who are inside want to get out" In honor of the re-release of Fortress Besieged, our David Applefield '78 Fellow Ben Tamburri reviews this classic 20th-century novel. Check it out below!
@commonmag.bsky.social"It’s not so much that I want to be loved. / It’s just that I want to be allowed / to love someone."
New work from Brionne Janae, Gray Davidson Carroll, and Wilbert Turner III rings with the traces of encounter and country. Read more below in our September Poetry Feature!
@commonmag.bsky.social"Communication has become a disembodied thing: words come out of the narrator’s mouth, but they mean nothing to him." -Translator's note.
Read "The Messengers," by Zhu Yue, trans. Alyssa Asquith & Jianan Qian, below.
@commonmag.bsky.social"And it hurts: most days since my face fell down, I’ve felt a Funeral, in my Brain."
Through the poetry of Emily Dickinson, Therese Gleason reckons with a diagnosis and the uncertain path of healing. Read our latest dispatch at the link below!
@commonmag.bsky.social"Your letter and your story I have clung to as to an overturned canoe."
What Clever Friends: The Selected Letters Between Jane Kenyon and Alice Mattison is a testament to the artistic and academic energy buoyed by these two poets. Read an excerpt from this new book below!
@commonmag.bsky.social"As I read, a distinct feeling arises in me that meaning’s gotten lost in the maze of time"
Aidan Cooper reviews Wyatt Townley's frenetic new poetry collection, Making the Turn. Check it out at the link below!
@commonmag.bsky.social"a compelling and earnest contemplation of immigration and race, one that embodies Mysore’s signature duality as it swings from explicit and more familiar commentary to something funnier and more singular."
Michelle Donahue reviews "Let All Our Ghosts Depart" by Meghana Mysore:
buff.ly/4v8LVHk
@commonmag.bsky.socialIn our most recent podcast episode, Liz DeWolf explains how Annie Ernaux and a metro project came to inspire her Issue 31 story, "Ex Situ." Be sure to give it a listen using the link below!
@commonmag.bsky.socialIn our latest podcast episode, Issue 31 contributor Liz DeWolf discusses her must-read story "Ex Situ," writing about living abroad, and her experience editing nonfiction. Check it out below!
@commonmag.bsky.socialOur fall submissions are open! To address any questions and make the process more accessible, we've compiled a short "Did You Know?" info page. Want to learn more about reading times or acceptance rates? Read more at the link below!
@commonmag.bsky.social"When I write a book that receives nothing but rave reviews, I get a little suspicious— does this mean I’ve lost my edge? Part of me will always believe I’m not doing my job to the fullest unless I’m alienating some readers."
Read the full interview with Daniel Kraus below!
buff.ly/yzLgMXr
@commonmag.bsky.social"were you where you left yourself? / and who was left? / was anyone left?"
Our September's Poetry Feature brings you haunting new work from Brionne Janae, Gray Davidson Carroll, and Wilbert Turner III. Check it out below!
@commonmag.bsky.social"I couldn’t smile, blink, or cry—the nerve damage prevented tears from forming, made my cornea brittle and dry."
In the wake of a life-altering diagnosis, Therese Gleason contemplates her journey in the words and backyard of a poet. Read our latest dispatch below!
