The Paris Review #252 : Summer 2025

Trade paperback.  Hot off the press!!  Prose, poetry, art and interviews to make your brain sing.

Fanny Howe on the Art of Poetry: “If I could say I was assigned something at birth, it would be to keep the soul fresh and clean, and to not let anything bring it down.”

Marie NDiaye on the Art of Fiction: “Oh, no! Reading beautiful books can’t be traumatizing. Seeing awful things can be—but reading? I don’t believe in that at all.”

Prose by Anuk Arudpragasam, Tom Crewe, GauZ’, Zans Brady Krohn, and Joy Williams.

Poetry by Will Alexander, John Berryman, Yongyu Chen, Eugene Ostashevsky, Ricardo Reis, and Nell Wright.

Art by Anne Collier, Celia Paul, and Alessandro Teoldi; cover by Tyler Mitchell.

 Table of Contents      

Fiction        

Anuk Arudpragasam "The Visit"

Tom Crewe "The Fête"        

GauZ’ "The Sans-Papiers of  Saint-Bernard"        

Zans Brady Krohn "Saying Nothing Nicely"        

Joy Williams "After the Haiku Period"    

Interview        

Fanny Howe -- The Art of Poetry No. 118"        

Marie NDiaye -- The Art of Fiction No. 268    

Poetry        

Will Alexander Torrential by Unknown Emergence        

John Berryman “Nothing ruffled or made glare or could dismay . . .”        

John Berryman “He is prone. Smoke on the iced lake, freer . . .”        

Yongyu Chen Outpost        

Ricardo Reis Ode 76        

Eugene Ostashevsky Falling Sonnet XI        

Nell Wright the future        

Nell Wright Remote Work    

Cover        

Tyler Mitchell -- Issue No. 252 Cover    

Art        

Anne Collier Auras        

Celia Paul Rose 1 and Rose 2        

Alessandro Teoldi Ingredienti