Quarterly magazine of literature and the arts, founded in 1948. Poetry, fiction, essays, and more.https://bsky.app/profile/hudsonreview.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/hudsonreview.bsky.social/post/3mttxvut2422rFrom “Trying to Write a First Love Poem at Seventy” by Brian Culhane: 1/2 Hours into it and no likely start, Pen poised over many a crossed-out line. Fool, look in thy heart and write—fine advice, I suppose, from courtly love until now, But my ardent heart beats on in silence.24 Aug 2026 18:51 +0000at://did:plc:76exd7zljs5ynwsvbe7dufeb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mttxvut2422rhttps://bsky.app/profile/hudsonreview.bsky.social/post/3mtlzzgamus2jDavid Mason on Electric Spark: The Enigma of Dame Muriel, by Frances Wilson @fsgbooks.bsky.social: 1/2 Frances Wilson is one of our boldest and most innovative biographers because she understands the fundamental problem of her art. She writes biography as essay, as attempt, and she is particularly21 Aug 2026 15:07 +0000at://did:plc:76exd7zljs5ynwsvbe7dufeb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtlzzgamus2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/hudsonreview.bsky.social/post/3mtjhqb4oas2qKaren Wilkin reviews the Art Students League’s Fairfield Porter exhibition: 1/2 It all seems straightforward and modest, but with longer acquaintance, Porter’s connection to the history of Western art becomes evident, as well as his audacity.20 Aug 2026 14:34 +0000at://did:plc:76exd7zljs5ynwsvbe7dufeb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtjhqb4oas2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/hudsonreview.bsky.social/post/3mth2kpr6i22mLouise Marburg reviews Melanie Pappadis Faranello's collection from Columbus State University Press: 1/3 Everybody Needs Something is the title of her thought-provoking debut story collection.⁠ I’d like to tack on a fitting subtitle: But They Probably Aren’t Going to Get It…19 Aug 2026 15:33 +0000at://did:plc:76exd7zljs5ynwsvbe7dufeb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mth2kpr6i22mhttps://bsky.app/profile/hudsonreview.bsky.social/post/3mtefe5ragk2cFrom “The Deer Mouse Berates Me” by Joan Murray: 1/3 Sleepless all night, you lay listening, listening, as if I might come thumping along the floorboards dragging a sack. As if I hadn’t slithered sylphlike a hundred times over, a single seed held lightly18 Aug 2026 14:09 +0000at://did:plc:76exd7zljs5ynwsvbe7dufeb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtefe5ragk2chttps://bsky.app/profile/hudsonreview.bsky.social/post/3mtbzd5mk3s27In 2018, Spanish novelist Antonio Muñoz Molina documented his writing process over the summer he struggled to write one novel, gave up on the idea—only for another to quickly come in its place, resulting in Your Steps on the Stairs (Other Press, 2025). (1/3)17 Aug 2026 15:28 +0000at://did:plc:76exd7zljs5ynwsvbe7dufeb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtbzd5mk3s27https://bsky.app/profile/hudsonreview.bsky.social/post/3mt2enluhj224“Ascension” by Ines P. Rivera Prosdocimi: 1/3 My mother slips out of her skin to travel the hospital’s halls. She’s abandoned her body for a respite from monitors and the blessed nurses she swats with a gloved hand. She stretches:14 Aug 2026 14:29 +0000at://did:plc:76exd7zljs5ynwsvbe7dufeb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mt2enluhj224https://bsky.app/profile/hudsonreview.bsky.social/post/3msxsscmgbk2gKaren Wilkin reviews Hauser & Wirth’s Philip Guston exhibition, “Life with P.”: 1/3 The works mostly post-dated the family’s move to Woodstock in 1967 and seem to reflect on domesticity, sometimes to disturbing effect. The large paintings were intense and spectacular…13 Aug 2026 14:05 +0000at://did:plc:76exd7zljs5ynwsvbe7dufeb/app.bsky.feed.post/3msxsscmgbk2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/hudsonreview.bsky.social/post/3msvcmtsn7s2xLorna Knowles Blake reviews The Dance by Christian Wiman @fsgbooks.bsky.social: 1/2 Wiman is a preternaturally gifted poet. Fluently moving from persona poem to parable to haiku and everything in between, there is seemingly nothing out of his prosodic range.12 Aug 2026 14:10 +0000at://did:plc:76exd7zljs5ynwsvbe7dufeb/app.bsky.feed.post/3msvcmtsn7s2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/hudsonreview.bsky.social/post/3mst7x73zks2bFrom "At the Grave of Tiem Duc Bui" by Charles Martin: In truth, though, being born turns out to be An inestimable gift that should amaze Us all by its improbability. https://hudsonreview.com/2026/07/at-the-grave-of-tiem-duc-bui-woman-raking-leaves-in-barry-park-late-bedtime-story-camden-1969-after-borges/11 Aug 2026 18:17 +0000at://did:plc:76exd7zljs5ynwsvbe7dufeb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mst7x73zks2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/hudsonreview.bsky.social/post/3msqbtplink2mLouise Marburg reviews This Is Not About Us by Allegra Goodman from Dial Press: By the end I felt that seventeen [stories] was not enough…this is a wonderfully written and most entertaining book filled with characters I felt I already knew and know far better now. https://hudsonreview.com/2026/07/a-delicious-stack/10 Aug 2026 14:12 +0000at://did:plc:76exd7zljs5ynwsvbe7dufeb/app.bsky.feed.post/3msqbtplink2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/hudsonreview.bsky.social/post/3msiqajt7xk2iMarina Harss reviews the Dance Theatre of Harlem’s Firebird: 1/3 Taras and Holder’s Firebird is untouchable, unsentimental, sharp in every way, without an ounce of the eroticism of Fokine’s original concept.07 Aug 2026 14:09 +0000at://did:plc:76exd7zljs5ynwsvbe7dufeb/app.bsky.feed.post/3msiqajt7xk2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/hudsonreview.bsky.social/post/3msba55b4tc2x“Blackbirds” by Jeffrey Harrison: 1/3 The European blackbird is a much better singer than the blackbirds at home, and now I’ve found that my own poems sound better in Italian. This morning I heard two of them read aloud, and they sounded04 Aug 2026 14:32 +0000at://did:plc:76exd7zljs5ynwsvbe7dufeb/app.bsky.feed.post/3msba55b4tc2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/hudsonreview.bsky.social/post/3ms6qcgq3vs2cBrooke Allen reviews The Dangerous Times and Fatal Genius of Shakespeare’s Greatest Rival by Stephen Greenblatt @wwnorton.com 1/5 One of [Doctor Faustus'] most innovative features, hugely influential on all future drama (and film), was Marlowe’s invention of the soliloquy.03 Aug 2026 14:43 +0000at://did:plc:76exd7zljs5ynwsvbe7dufeb/app.bsky.feed.post/3ms6qcgq3vs2chttps://bsky.app/profile/hudsonreview.bsky.social/post/3mrx4py5wwc2nErick Neher reviews Noël Coward’s Fallen Angels, revived by Roundabout Theatre Company: 1/2 Coward’s central theme is neither adultery nor marital regret, but rather the complex web of love, jealousy, devotion and rivalry inherent in any intensely close friendship.31 Jul 2026 14:04 +0000at://did:plc:76exd7zljs5ynwsvbe7dufeb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrx4py5wwc2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/hudsonreview.bsky.social/post/3mrs5zqgojc27From “The Nearer Realm” by Rebecca Kilroy, second-prize winner of our 2025 short story contest: 1/2 He straightened up when he saw me and exclaimed, “Christ, but he’s risen!” I frowned. “The storm wasn’t so bad out my way. No danger of me being blown out to sea, surely.”29 Jul 2026 14:44 +0000at://did:plc:76exd7zljs5ynwsvbe7dufeb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrs5zqgojc27https://bsky.app/profile/hudsonreview.bsky.social/post/3mrpl2xj5kc23From “The Salt Waking” by David Mason: We know the cold burns. That’s why we come to it with caution, immerse and remember to breathe. The salt abrasion is a kind of home. https://hudsonreview.com/2026/07/citizens-of-the-wind-the-salt-waking-a-drawn-out-anxious-sense-the-extinction-of-the-dinosaurs/28 Jul 2026 14:00 +0000at://did:plc:76exd7zljs5ynwsvbe7dufeb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrpl2xj5kc23https://bsky.app/profile/hudsonreview.bsky.social/post/3mrfirpwbcc2uFrom “The Unmeasurable” by Pegah Ouji @pegahouji.bsky.social, winner of our 2025 fiction contest: 1/ Iran, our home, is watered by the sacrificed blood of our martyrs, Sheena reads in Isfahan News on her iPhone’s cracked screen. The Peykan Uber spits her out in front of the historic Motamedi house.24 Jul 2026 13:52 +0000at://did:plc:76exd7zljs5ynwsvbe7dufeb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrfirpwbcc2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/hudsonreview.bsky.social/post/3mrakttxjec2bOur summer issue is now online! Featuring Pegah Ouji & Rebecca Kilroy, the 1st & 2nd prize winners of our 2025 fiction contest; Antonio Muñoz Molina's diary entries from writing his 2019 novel; poems by Ines P. Rivera Prosdocimi & Jeffrey Harrison; & more! https://hudsonreview.com/issue/summer-2026/22 Jul 2026 14:46 +0000at://did:plc:76exd7zljs5ynwsvbe7dufeb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrakttxjec2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/hudsonreview.bsky.social/post/3mraknx5crk2bWe are happy to announce the winners of our 2025 fiction contest! Congrats to Pegah Ouji @pegahouji.bsky.social, who won 1st prize; congrats as well to Rebecca Kilroy, 2nd; Shahriar Shaams, 3rd; and Yara Zgheib, honorable mention. We are so honored to publish their work!22 Jul 2026 14:42 +0000at://did:plc:76exd7zljs5ynwsvbe7dufeb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mraknx5crk2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/hudsonreview.bsky.social/post/3mqovkvqznc2fKaren Wilkin reviews “William Perehudoff: Boundless Color” at Berry Campbell: 1/4 The works on view explored the resonance of the raw materials of painting, as manipulated by a distinct personality.15 Jul 2026 14:10 +0000at://did:plc:76exd7zljs5ynwsvbe7dufeb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqovkvqznc2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/hudsonreview.bsky.social/post/3mqmgeg2yv22iFrom “These Days” by Robert Cording: 1/2 I like to walk with my kind, following the shoreline, one foot in front of the other, as if it were truly a plan to stay alive. What I like most is how we’ve lost all thought of our out-of-shape, misshapen bodies, weighed down by years14 Jul 2026 14:32 +0000at://did:plc:76exd7zljs5ynwsvbe7dufeb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqmgeg2yv22ihttps://bsky.app/profile/hudsonreview.bsky.social/post/3mqjuuqkczc2hMark Jarman reviews A Violence by Paula Bohince @princetonupress.bsky.social 1/2 [Bohince] admits, “I’ve held on to // childishness longer than most…” There is a difference between childhood and childishness, and A Violence reminds us of that repeatedly, as much like a lullaby as a prison sentence.13 Jul 2026 14:14 +0000at://did:plc:76exd7zljs5ynwsvbe7dufeb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqjuuqkczc2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/hudsonreview.bsky.social/post/3mqccrlwk7k2bMarina Harss reviews August Bournonville’s Flower Festival in Genzano @nycballet.bsky.social: 1/5 What struck me most was the way the characters depicted by the two dancers treated each other: the tenderness, the delight in each other’s presence, the warmth.10 Jul 2026 14:01 +0000at://did:plc:76exd7zljs5ynwsvbe7dufeb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqccrlwk7k2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/hudsonreview.bsky.social/post/3mq5bk42k2c2iFrom “Bliss,” a short story by Louise Marburg: 1/2 The man keeps shooting and shooting until I think I’ll lose my mind. Then suddenly there’s silence, which is just as disturbing in its way. Don’t move, the toothpaste lady mouths. I nod and close my eyes.08 Jul 2026 13:56 +0000at://did:plc:76exd7zljs5ynwsvbe7dufeb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mq5bk42k2c2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/hudsonreview.bsky.social/post/3mq2sdmitxk26Brooke Allen reviews Becoming Led Zeppelin: 1/4 Some critics have complained that the film skips over the band’s bad behavior…but I appreciated that decision. The movie is about music and only music; and it is music, of course, that makes this band, these men, interesting.07 Jul 2026 14:19 +0000at://did:plc:76exd7zljs5ynwsvbe7dufeb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mq2sdmitxk26https://bsky.app/profile/hudsonreview.bsky.social/post/3mpoeeodgik23From “Downpour,” by Jeanne Foster : 1/6 * You never thought “molested.” Then someone used the word. You were not “molested” in that time space, but in this time space you were “molested.” Touched by the pianist in the backseat of the car, your parents up front, father driving.02 Jul 2026 15:37 +0000at://did:plc:76exd7zljs5ynwsvbe7dufeb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpoeeodgik23https://bsky.app/profile/hudsonreview.bsky.social/post/3mpjayssf722qTom Wilhelmus reviews House of Day, House of Night, by Olga Tokarczuk, trans. by Antonia Lloyd-Jones @riverheadbooks.bsky.social: 1/2 Instead of plot, it proceeds (like Flights) by labeled sections with titles like “Dreams,” “Mushroominess,” the names of characters, “Rhubarb”…30 Jun 2026 14:53 +0000at://did:plc:76exd7zljs5ynwsvbe7dufeb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpjayssf722qhttps://bsky.app/profile/hudsonreview.bsky.social/post/3mph5hx64gs2zMichael Thurston on Larry by Michael Haag: 1/5 Many books are luxuries, and it is probably unproductive to wonder whether any book is really necessary. Nevertheless, I finished this biography nagged by the question of why it had been published, especially when it is so obviously unfinished.29 Jun 2026 18:45 +0000at://did:plc:76exd7zljs5ynwsvbe7dufeb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mph5hx64gs2z