Freeman's: Change

Featuring thrilling new work from Lauren Groff, Rick Bass, Ocean Vuong, Rickey Laurentiis, and more, the latest installment of the acclaimed literary journal Freeman’s explores the hope and pain of the everchanging present

The Covid-19 pandemic forced many of us to reimagine our homes, work, relationships, and adapt to a new way of life—one with far fewer possibilities for interaction. And yet, in this period of intense isolation, we’ve faced dilemmas which are nearly universal. How to love, care for aging parents, find a home, attend to a planet in flux, fight for justice. This vast range of experiences is captured by our greatest storytellers, essayists, and poets in the new issue of Freeman’s: Change.

Some pieces explore the small moments that serve as new routines in a life lived at home, as in Joshua Bennett’s essay, where a Coltrane playlist sets the stage for early morning dances with his newborn son as they watch the sun come up. Sometimes, it’s the absence of change that drives us to the edge. In Lina Mounzer’s “The Gamble,” a father’s incessant hope for a better life festers and sinks the whole family after they leave Lebanon during the Civil War.

In Kamel Daoud’s heartbreaking tale, a widow’s attempt to retreat into the unchanging past edits her son right from her reality. And in “Final Days,” Sayaka Murata imagines a future without aging, where people must choose how and when they want to die, consulting guidebooks like Let’s Die Naturally! Super Deaths for Adults & The Best Spots.

With new writing from Julia Alvarez, Sandra Cisneros, Zahia Rahmani, Yoko Ogawa, Yasmine El Rashidi, Lina Meruane, and Aleksandar Hemon, and featuring work from never-before-published writers like Elizabeth Ayre, Freeman’s: Change opens a window into the many-sided ways we adapt.