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My husband, the blue room, the bright room, best china,
best silver lifted from a box in the closet, . . .
—From "My husband who is not my husband," a poem by Ed Madden (2014).
He wanted to laugh, but the woman was being earnest. She was young—early thirties, he guessed—with an unremarkable face except for her eyes, so dark you could barely distinguish iris from pupil. . . . Kiss Me Deadly red lipstick, and a long-sleeved forest-green dress of some suède-like fabric that looked vintage. His gaze kept being drawn to her gleaming manicure, each copper-colored nail like a Japanese beetle.
—From "Greensleeves," a short story by Sigrid Nunez, The New Yorker (September 9, 2024), pp. 44-49.
The light was different than in Thailand. Or perhaps the dry and dusty landscape somehow lessened its intensity.
—From Papaya Salad, a graphic novel by Elisa Macellari, translated from the Italian by Carla Roncalli di Montorio (Dark Horse Books, a division of Dark Horse Comics, 2020). This is from page 108 of the hardcover.
The villagers here used to all be animists . . . they believed the forest was alive.
—From Spiral and Other Stories, a dreamlike collection of comics by Aidan Koch (New York Review Comics, 2024). This is from "A New Year."
You knew I'd write a book about you someday. You said once that I'd dredged up the whole hit parade minus you.
—From Heart the Lover, a novel by Lily King (Grove Press, 2026).