Click here to view the African Writing Online Folio table of contents. Anna Almore is a relative, learner, and doctoral candidate in the Joint Program in English and Education at the University of Michigan. She received her bachelor’s in English with certificates in African American and American studies at Princeton University. Her work has been … Meet Our Contributors | African Writing Online Folio Read More ..read more

“What would any of us do / if freed?”  So asks Caroline Harper New in her debut collection A History of Half-Birds, winner of the 2023 Ballard Spahr Prize for Poetry. The poems here, both intimate and inquisitive, both personal and public, seethe with life in all its myriad forms: carob seeds “so consistently shaped … Learning “how / to make a house of our ruin”: A Review of Caroline Harper New’s A History of Half-Birds Read More ..read more

Published in Issue 63.2: Spring 2024 a second home from a second homea quarter home with women their children their homes their husbands thereshe is parting relaxed hair sectioningrecipes saving dresses for sunday trades survival tips a grin a thank youa whitening toothpaste a lightening creambrings experience to thankless desks saving for boots for the … mom makes time Read More ..read more

Katya Apekina made her debut in 2018 with her stunning novel The Deeper the Water the Uglier the Fish—in which teenaged sisters Edie and Mae are sent to New York to live with their estranged father after their mother’s suicide attempt. With her follow-up, Apekina once again probes complicated family dynamics, this time using pregnancy … On the Trickle-Down Effects of Trauma: An Interview with Katya Apekina Read More ..read more

Heran Abate is an Emmy-winning writer and producer from Addis Ababa. Her practice is deeply rooted in oral histories and an archive that she has collaboratively built over a decade of research. Her writing appears in Kweli Journal, Africa Is a Country, and a number of print anthologies in Africa and Europe. She holds an … Meet Our Contributors | Issue 63:2 | Spring 2024 Read More ..read more

Before the stage at Pittsburgh’s City of Asylum, I scribbled notes while Elaine Castillo crossed her legs and shared excerpts from her latest essay collection, How to Read Now. Under the soft spotlights, her critical reflections and sharp sarcasm captivated the audience. I found myself humming and nodding in agreement as Castillo deftly articulated many … Beyond the Page: Decolonial Reading in How To Read Now Read More ..read more

The greatest gain that ere I knew/ Was made in the blackness of the night– St. John of the Cross There are at least two renderings of Caravaggio’s Conversion of St. Paul, which was first commissioned in 1599 by a Roman treasurer, Tiberio Cerasi, for his familial chapel in the Santa Maria del Popolo. The … Conversion’s Balance: On Jennifer Grotz’s Still Falling Read More ..read more

Fred Moten lives in New York City and teaches at New York University where he is a Professor of Performance Studies. A Distinguished Professor Emeritus from the University of California, Riverside, he is renowned for his work as scholar, theorist, and poet. His poems have appeared in numerous publications, including Poetry, PEN America, poets.org, The … Discomposition: An Interview with Fred Moten Read More ..read more

Published in Issue 63.1: Winter 2024 Barely a month into seventh grade and already Ruby had three crushes: a celebrity crush on Cary Elwes, the most beautiful man in the world; a romantic crush on Osama, a lanky, graceful Syrian boy at her masjid who could spin a basketball on one finger; and a platonic … THE LADIES OF THE CITY Read More ..read more

Published in Issue 63.1: Winter 2024 Wendy Chen is the author of Unearthings (Tavern Books), editor of Figure 1, and associate editor-in-chief of Tupelo Quarterly. She earned her MFA in poetry from Syracuse University and her PhD in English at the University of Denver. Her debut novel is forthcoming from Algonquin in 2024. Her translation … HYPERDREAM (THE WASP) Read More ..read more