THE BELIEVER 141 (SPRING 2023)

All subscriptions to The Believer placed before June 22 will start with this issue.

Named the best magazine of 2022 by Alta.

Inside issue 141 of The Believer: A mystery of literary lineage involving Muriel Rukeyser and Robinson Jeffers; an extensive, reported feature from Dave Eggers on his trip to Ukraine; Andrea Bajani on the rarely discussed, highly stigmatized experience that touches almost every writer’s career; new poems from Jenny Xie, Aria Aber, and Emily Jungmin Yoon; new comics by Gabrielle Bell and Noah Van Sciver; plus interviews with Michael Imperioli, Eula Biss, Dale Dickey, and legendary hypeman Flavor Flav. Not to mention Nick Hornby on what he’s been reading; Carrie Brownstein answering your most challenging requests for advice; Brandon Hobson on Ishtar. Plus one-page reviews on small-press books, odd literary games—and still, somehow more!

Table of Contents:

Issue 141

Resurrector: Ishtar
by Brandon Hobson

Underway: Danielle A. Jackson

Stuff I’ve Been Reading
by Nick Hornby

“Fame for Fame”
a new comic by Noah Van Sciver

“Love and Death Speaking at Once”
a new poem by Emily Jungmin Yoon

Close Read: Appleton
by Molly Young

Sacrifice Zone: Land’s End, UK
by Meara Sharma

Ask Carrie
by Carrie Brownstein

“Lost Ones”
by Ross Scarano
Experts agree that memories of rare music can persist for years.

Flavor Flav
interviewed by Melissa Locker

“If One Woman Told the Truth about Her Life”
by Rebecca Rukeyser
For years, the author was under the impression that her grandmother, the iconic poet Muriel Rukeyser, used Donnan Jeffers, son of another iconic poet, Robinson Jeffers, as a sperm bank, for the purposes of begetting a literary child. But was this the whole story?

Michael Imperioli
interviewed by Hayden Bennett

“The Curse of Kafka”
by Andrea Bajani
Considering the rarely discussed, highly stigmatized experience that touches almost every writer’s career: the failed book.

An extensive, reported feature from Dave Eggers on his trip to Ukraine.

Eula Biss
interviewed by Mara Naselli

Animal: Rumi
by Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi

“Too Much and Therefore Nothing”
a new poem by Jenny Xie

Dale Dickey
interviewed by Yvonne Conza

“The Hard Problem of My Consciousness”
a new comic by Gabrielle Bell

One-Page Reviews
Short reviews of small press books, featuring Zoe Hu on Colin Winnette, Ricardo Frasso Jaramillo on Isabel Zapata, and Danielle Dutton on Gagosian’s new Picture Books imprint.

Hotel: The Atlanta
by Leslie Carol Roberts

“What Were You Waiting For”
a new poem by Aria Aber

Wo Chan
microinterviewed by Alexander Chee