Words by Leili Kamali PO ’29, Graphic by Penny Messinger SC ’29 My dad doesn’t tell stories the way most people do. When he tells me of his childhood in Iran, I get little windows into his past. He tells me about the smell of the apricots, and how the sun in Iran makes all the fruit perfectly sweet and tart at the same time. … Continue reading Stories of/for baba
Words by Maya Raphael PZ ’27, Graphic by Madeleine Farr PZ ’27 It’s not that deep. Ah yes, Gen Z’s favorite incantation against intimacy. A year is shaved off my life each time this sentiment invades my eardrums, vibrating almost derogatorily against my canals. It is as if I am supposed to say: “My apologies, my humanity began to ooze out — how dare I … Continue reading Nonchalance
Words by Anabel Audoly CM ’28, Graphic by Ben Connolly PZ ’26 1 The dinner was to be at Anton Volkov’s apartment in the 6ᵉ arrondissement. He had started spending his time watching rather long episodes of two young Americans remodeling homes. They were twins and he found this quite charming, although he hadn’t yet realized it was because he missed his children. Ivana and … Continue reading Something Nice
Words by Luca Rudenstine PZ ’26, Graphic by Izzy Young PZ ’28 Fiona Apple’s Parting Gift isn’t a breakup song so much as a group memo to an alumni association of exes. She once said it was written “to all of the men I have known,” which instantly shifts it from private heartbreak to mass correspondence: subject line, Your Services Are No Longer Required. Amidst … Continue reading My Parting Gift
Words by Ayden Duchovnay SC ’28 Graphic by Ava Tratt PZ ’27 Here, it is a February of eucalyptus and rosemary and yesterday’s weed. Snow has melted off the dry brown mountain And my friends are at the pool. I want the February of petrichor and pine, I want the rain to melt. I want the snow, I want to brake for geese and to … Continue reading February
Words by Tania Azhang PZ ’25 Graphic by Ash Dirks SC ’28 “What does this piece evoke for you?” asked our museum guide Solomon. We were looking at Alison Saar’s painting “Lethe,” depicting a Black woman whose body is partially underwater while her head hovers above the surface. I recently visited the Benton Museum’s “Black Ecologies in American Art” exhibition. We were evaluating works by … Continue reading In “Severance,” Hell Has Its Perks
Words by Ayden Duchovnay SC ’28 Graphic by Blue Byrnes PZ ’27 Two birds left luck For Lucy, yesterday Just beside her favorite elm All at once she felt As if the roots had willed A bridge, between The trees and the worms and From the edge of her Outstretched hand She sees now Alida wears eight rings, each one An overgrown summer, but still … Continue reading Conversation with Friends, 1/23/25
Words by Maya Raphael PZ ’27 Graphic by Thea Riley PZ ’28 To me, selfhood is not the intentional curation of an identity but the natural cumulation of experiences within this body. I contain multitudes. Every step I take is imbued with every step I have ever taken. Every breath I breathe whirls endlessly in the space of my being. The culmination of all pain … Continue reading Actuality
Words by Sage Lewit PZ ’27 Graphic by Blue Byrnes PZ ’27 Lingerer – They say you are confused, Trying too hard, holding on. Gripping and grasping – missing your cue I hear you. Your words hang quietly looming ahead the masses who misread you. Coin you insecure. Call you yet miss you no Further. In your absence they are remiss Freed of your echoes which … Continue reading Pull a Brain in Two
Words by Madeleine Farr PZ’27 Graphic by Sonia Sidhu PZ ’28 One thing about my dad is that he loves “Fantastic Mr. Fox.” He quotes it all the time (incorrectly) and sports pairs of socks with foxes on them. It’s sweet and makes sense for a guy like him. He appreciates the quick one-liners peppered throughout the movie, respects the animation’s artistry, and even dresses … Continue reading Chick flicks and politics: Dad, I love you.
