William Lessard on Vibe Coding Poetry in Our Era of AI
Pre-Musk Twitter drew writer/visual artist William Lessard back to poetry. He adapts to current AI tech with his latest “vibe coding” project, /face.
books feature
Edmund White’s Longing for Being and Nothingness
The sexual world in Edmund White’s The Beautiful Room Is Empty expresses the tension between being and nothingness: the body insists on presence, yet the self remains elusive.
10 Writers Remaking African Literature in 2026
The writers demanding our attention in 2026 interrogate power, dissect masculinity, and insist on joy in their works of satire, sorcery, and secrets from Africa and the Diaspora.
Justin Townes Earle’s Unrealized Future
Rolling Stone editor Jonathan Bernstein’s biography of Justin Townes Earle, What Do You Do When You’re Lonesome, is rooted in the quiet devastation of Saint of Lost Causes.
Mothra Is Luminous as an Icon of Soft Power and Femininity
Whether defending her eggs, the Earth, or the people and kaiju she values, Mothra has consistently demonstrated caregiving instincts that finally have a lucid source in her feminine creator, Ajigo.
Joker’s Prophecy About American Neoliberalism
Joker provides a keen understanding of the deleterious effects of American neoliberalism, which the authors dismantle in Send in the Clowns with a mordant deadpan wit.
Translating Mothra Is Trickier Than Capturing Godzilla
Jeffrey Angles discusses the perils and pleasures of translating Mothra’s tri-authored origin tale, The Luminous Fairies and Mothra, into English.
Andy Weir in the Spirit of Jules Verne
Andy Weir, sci-fi author of The Martian, cites Asimov and Clarke as inspirations, but he’s more likely the cosmic literary incarnation of Jules Verne.
‘Damaged People’ and the Inescapability of Intergenerational Trauma
Joe McGinniss, Jr.’s memoir, Damaged People takes on intergenerational trauma, familial curses, and true crime’s tenacious hold on art.
Video Game Storytelling Is a World-Colliding Reinvention
Whereas the novel specializes in psychological interiority, video game storytelling allows players to experiment outwardly in world-colliding fashion.
Dickon Edwards of the Dandy Underground Surfaces
Dandy diarist extraordinaire Dickon Edwards talks about how his diary writing is a queer, articulate, and pointed retort to the pressures of conformity.
Nancy Drew’s Forever American Girlhood
Will the iconic Nancy Drew character created 95 years ago be left in the past, or will she make her place in today’s ideal of American girlhood?