The Believer, Issue 132

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.

Notes & Apologies…The Editors…2

Featured Artist…Dmitri Jackson…3

Conversations with Contributors…Various…4

The Field…Various…6

Timely 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…17
A 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…23

Survival Diaries…Various…24

Seven writers on surviving 2020, featuring Tommy Pico, Kristen Arnett, Tiphanie Yanique and others.

Schema: A Denzel Washington Filmography…Walton Muyumba…38

Robert Thurman… interviewed by…Jane Ratcliffe…41

Getting Back in Touch…Shruti Ravindran…51

In 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…63

Animal Crossing…Ben Goldfarb…70

Are Tasmania’s wildlife carers a heartwarming example of charity or an indictment of public policy?

“The Vine and the Fish”: a comic…Leise Hook…81

Does 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…103

City, Island…Alexandra Marvar…105

On Hart island, the dead who were exiled in life remain exiled in death.

Jeannie Vanasco… in conversation with… Amy Berkowitz…117

Word: Kismet…Hilal Isler…126

Ingrid LaFleur… in conversation with…Rasheedah Phillips…130

“Interstate Highway System”: a poem… Adam O. Davis… 139

Neila Orr… in conversation with… Ismail Muhammad… 54, 57, 60, 107, 110