This image is the cover for the book Freeman's: Change, Freeman's

Freeman's: Change, Freeman's

This volume of the acclaimed literary journal explores the hope and pain of an ever-changing present with new work by Lauren Groff, Ocean Vuong, and more.

The Covid-19 pandemic forced many of us to reimagine our homes, work, and relationships. And yet, in this period of intense isolation, we faced dilemmas which are nearly universal. How to love, to care for aging parents, to fight for justice. This vast range of experiences is captured by our greatest storytellers, essayists, and poets, in this issue of Freeman’s: Change.

In Joshua Bennett’s essay, a Coltrane playlist sets the stage for early morning dances with his newborn son as they watch the sun come up. 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.

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.

John Freeman

John Freeman was the editor of Granta until 2013. His books include Dictionary of the Undoing, How to Read a Novelist, Tales of Two Americas, and Tales of Two Planets. His poetry includes the collections Maps, The Park, and the forthcoming Wind, Trees. In 2021, he edited the anthologies There’s a Revolution Outside, My Love with Tracy K. Smith, and The Penguin Book of the Modern American Short Story. An Executive Editor at Knopf, he teaches writing and literature classes at NYU.

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