Current Issue

Since 1925, VQR has distinguished itself among literary magazines for its iconoclastic approach to American letters and the world at large. Launched in the spirit of forming “a fellowship of uncongenial minds,” this magazine has been cherished by writers and artists seeking to publish work that resists convention, and beloved by readers like you who have relied on it as a place where intellectual rigor and the delight of surprise form a certain chemistry that make it unlike any other magazine in publishing. 
 
VQR celebrates its centenary with an issue that delivers on all fronts. A set of powerhouse nonfiction is led by Joseph Earl Thomas, who heads to New Orleans to compete in the Pokémon North American International Championship, giving us a close reading into why this “pocket monster” phenomenon is arguably the most humane game on the planet. Leslie Jamison indulges in a nostalgic pilgrimage to Disneyland—this time with her own daughter, discovering a reliable fantasy that, as a parent, possesses strange and unsettling layers. Tom Bissell’s profile of legendary screenwriter William Goldman is a funny, poignant, meet-your-hero portrait that walks us through Goldman’s love-hate relationship with Hollywood, one that turns out to be as entertaining as the indelible stories and characters he dreamed up for decades.

Our portfolios are anchored by a special project with the Pulitzer Center, with dispatches from reportage illustrator George Butler, who returned to Syria just after the fall of the Assad regime last December to document this historic crossroads for everyday citizens emerging from generations of tyranny. In addition, Nina Berman’s photo diary of a dark new normal at Columbia University, where she serves on the faculty, provides a chilling bellwether of the state of higher education in America. With an introduction by historian Ellen Schrecker, the portfolio articulates what’s at stake as the Trump Administration seeks to quash academic independence. Finally, Louie Palu inaugurates his #VQRTrueStory column on the surreal dynamics of being a pool photographer covering the performance of politics.

This issue’s fiction trifecta includes Etgar Keret, Karan Mahajan, and Souvankham Thammavongsa. Poetry by Victoria Chang, Stephen Espada Dawson, and Amanda Gunn round out the issue. Illustrator Gambineri kicks off a comics noir series.

Cover illustration by Eiko Ojala.