Author Biography

The Beverly Rogers, Carol C. Harter Black Mountain Institute is an international literary center on the campus of UNLV. BMI brings writers and the literary imagination into the heart of public life through publications, live events, fellowships, student enrichment opportunities, and much more. Kristen Arnett is the New York Times best-selling author of the debut novel Mostly Dead Things (Tin House), which was listed as one of that paper's top books of 2019. She is a queer fiction and essay writer. She was awarded Ninth Letter's Literary Award in Fiction and is a columnist for Literary Hub. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Gulf Coast, Guernica, Buzz- Feed, McSweeney's, The Guardian, on PBS NewsHour, and elsewhere. Her story collection, Felt in the Jaw, was published by Split/ Lip Press and was awarded the 2017 Coil Book Award. She is a spring 2020 Shearing Fellow at the Beverly Rogers, Carol C. Har- ter Black Mountain Institute at the University of Nevada. Her next two books (a novel, Samson, and a short-story collection, With Foxes) will be published by Riverhead Books. You can find her on Twitter @Kristen_Arnett.

Table of Contents

Notes & Apologies…The Editors…2Featured Artist…Dmitri Jackson…3Conversations with Contributors…Various…4The Field…Various…6Timely and tardy dispatches from the culture, featuring Stephen Sparks on bookselling in quarantine, Marie Scarles on Doomstead Days and the toxic sublime, and Roberto Lovato as guest critic.Website: Rip.ie…Ciara O'Rourke…15"Expiration Date": a comic…Jonathan Hill…17A kidney transplant saves an artist from a very different life, but it won't last forever."Annunciation in a Gas Station Bathroom": a poem…Traci Brimhall…23Survival Diaries…Various…24Seven writers on surviving 2020, featuring Tommy Pico, Kristen Arnett, Tiphanie Yanique and others.Schema: A Denzel Washington Filmography…Walton Muyumba…38Robert Thurman… interviewed by…Jane Ratcliffe…41Getting Back in Touch…Shruti Ravindran…51In a time of physical isolation, the hunt for a satisfactory remote touching device has taken on a new urgency.Nikky Finney… in conversation with …Jericho Brown…63Animal Crossing…Ben Goldfarb…70Are Tasmania's wildlife carers a heartwarming example of charity or an indictment of public policy?"The Vine and the Fish": a comic…Leise Hook…81Does the language of invasive biology contribute to xenophobia?Jaron Lanier… in conversation with… Tim Maughan…95"I Am Become a Man": a poem…Jack Underwood…103City, Island…Alexandra Marvar…105On Hart island, the dead who were exiled in life remain exiled in death.Jeannie Vanasco… in conversation with… Amy Berkowitz…117Word: Kismet…Hilal Isler…126Ingrid LaFleur… in conversation with…Rasheedah Phillips…130"Interstate Highway System": a poem… Adam O. Davis… 139Neila Orr… in conversation with… Ismail Muhammad… 54, 57, 60, 107, 110

Description for Sales People

The Believer, a five-time National Magazine Award finalist, is a bimonthly literature, arts, and culture magazine based in Las Vegas, Nevada. In each issue, readers will find journalism, essays, intimate interviews, an expansive comics section, poetry, and on occasion, delightful and unexpected bonus items. Our poetry section is curated by Jericho Brown, Kristen Radtke selects our comics, and Joshua Wolf Shenk is our editor-in-chief. All issues feature a regular column by Nick Hornby and a symposium, in which several writers expound on a theme of contemporary interest. The Believer has published greats like John Ashbery to Zadie Smith, plus an astonishing array of interviews (Ahmir Thompson, a.k.a. Questlove: _thompson) and break-out essays from Eula Biss, Leslie Jamison, and Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah. Releasing a new issue every other month, The Believer's total readership is over 15,000. The magazine is distributed all over the country and world to bookstores, newsstands and to creative, funky shops and galleries.

Details