Literature

I’m Broke But I Swear I’m Grateful Christine Vines Share article “Please Accept This Token of Thanks” by Christine Vines My sister raises her glass of sangria and clutches her heart, sequined top and cleavage trembling with her gratitude. “You guys are the sweetest,” she says. It’s her birthday and the three of us—Valda; her

When I was twenty-two, I came across Larissa Pham’s Pop Song: Adventures in Art and Intimacy in a bookstore in Oregon and could not put it down. Perhaps it was because the narrator was approximately the age I was and drew her experiences out in artistic fragments, phone calls, and reflections that gave shape to

The following things happen in my body when I think about writing this story: my chest tightens, my breathing gets quicker, shallow; a tingling sensation covers my arms; the skin on my forehead seems to tighten itself around my brain. I mostly think of the story in the shower where nothing but a stream of

Electric Literature is pleased to reveal the cover of Asmodeus by Rita Indiana, translated from the Spanish by Achy Obejas, which will be published September 1, 2026 by Graywolf Press. You can pre-order your copy here! Asmodeus is a hallucinatory thriller about a failing demon’s search for a new host in post-dictatorship Santo Domingo. Asmodeus,

“Wyoming,” an excerpt from Good Woman by Savala Nolan We pulled off the freeway and into a parking lot because we were hungry and we had seen a sign for a franchise steakhouse glowing white against the sky. The parking lot was massive, outsize like so much of the middle of the country, and empty.

A couple weeks after I first met the poet Asa Drake, a package from Florida showed up in my mailbox. Inside were jars of sweet jam and pickled peppadews, which I immediately understood Asa had grown and preserved herself. To receive a package in the mail is to feel cherished in a particularly quaint and

All’s Fair in Love and Optimus Prime Editor’s note: These poems are best viewed on a desktop. On the Wisdom of Optimus Prime —(1986 & beyond) Click to enlarge On the Legacy of Tron —(1982 & beyond) Click to enlarge Take a break from the news We publish your favorite authors—even the ones you haven’t

Nuclear realities have been a consistent thread throughout my life. Since childhood, I’ve paused at semis hauling cement canisters full of nuclear waste down the only road in and out of the area I call home. A photograph taken not far from the hills I inhabit depicts a chamisa bush gathering wind in a Los

A typical conversation about Sally Rooney often includes some version of the question: Are you a Normal People person or Conversations with Friends person? Rooney readers tend to have a strong, if not fraught, preference. Whenever people have asked me this question, however, I’ve had a different answer. “Actually,” I say, “I’m an ‘Even if

There are days lately when my body feels too small for everything I’m feeling. Maybe you know the sensation. That hot, tight coil of frustration that won’t unwind. The pressure of trying to stay pleasant while the world around you keeps insisting you should be grateful it’s not worse. It’s a strange kind of claustrophobia:

This Clown Convention Is Our Family’s Only Coping Mechanism Bret Anthony Johnston Share article “Paradeability” by Bret Anthony Johnston Serious clowns have their faces painted onto blown-­out goose eggs. My son tells me this on the drive from Corpus Christi to Houston. The custom began in the sixteenth century, a method of remembering makeup patterns,

Electric Literature is pleased to reveal the cover of Introvert Pervert by Jendi Reiter, which will be published March 10, 2026 by Word Works Books. You can pre-order your copy here! As witty as it is honest, as dark as it is blindingly bright, Jendi Reiter’s poetry collection Introvert Pervert weaves pop culture, personal experience, and lightning intellect

The first thing Jenny Tinghui Zhang and I bonded over when we met at the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, aside from both being writers, was that we were both devoted Lorde fans. Every time I meet someone who enjoys her music, it’s almost guaranteed that we immediately have a great friendship. A couple hours later, Zhang

One of my favorite ways to get to know someone better is to share a spa day with them—but I don’t mean booking forty-five minutes at some chain place where you can get a manicure in a bathrobe. What I have in mind is a Korean spa, a jjimjilbang, where you stash your clothes in

Self-Portrait as a Tangle of Weeds by Geetha Iyer I am the sort of writer who will put a tree in any piece of writing to improve it. But I am also the sort of writer who ignores houseplants. This contradiction in interests twisted upon itself some years ago when I moved to Panama newly

Dear Reader,  I am writing to share the news that after 16 years at Electric Literature, 14 as the editor of Recommended Reading, and 10 as Executive Director (EL’s first), I will be stepping down in June.  It’s difficult to leave an organization that I love, but the decision was easier knowing that I’m leaving

As the saying goes, the opposite of love isn’t hate—it’s indifference. And it’s not uncommon to sometimes hate the ones we love the most. One of the hallmarks of a good thriller is when the reader is made to doubt a character’s true intentions. Is he really a devoted friend? Or does he have an

How to Bury Your Shape-Shifting Mother The Old Higue’s Son Sometimes when I lie down, I feel sad and lonely. I think how my momma must have hollered when they were beating her with the pinta broom. I can’t use pinta broom no more. I stop sweep my yard. When I go feed the chickens