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literature

John Cheever’s Secrets

October 2025 Issue

Black-and-white photo of man in a collared shirt and sweater sitting at a desk with a typewriter; bookshelves, an old television with antennae, and a window are in the background.

Panic Attacks and the Meaning of Life

September 9, 2025

Illustration of a white silhouette of a boy inside a blue silhouette of a boy with green, white, and blue shapes surrounding them.

Why Arundhati Roy Fled Literary Fame

Anderson Tepper

September 8, 2025

Summertime

October 2025 Issue

illustration with outlines of bluish flowers and tan winged insects on black background

The Atlantic Daily

Seven Sunday Reads

September 7, 2025

Piles of French Novels by Vincent van Gogh

The ‘Remarkable Ability’ Many Dissidents Share

September 5, 2025

A black-and-white photo of protesters crowded under and on top of a bridge in Georgia.

A Book That Doesn’t Seek to Explain Itself

September 5, 2025

abstract collage portrait of Lee Chang-dong

The Atlantic Daily

Seven Labor Day Reads

September 1, 2025

A yellow backpack swinging in the sky

At a Family House Party in San Jose, California

August 31, 2025

A slightly fuzzy, film-style photograph of a pool lined with white pool chairs and blue pool umbrellas, with water splashing from the center.

The Atlantic Daily

A Devastating Sci-Fi Movie

August 31, 2025

A still from Melancholia showing Kirsten Dunst in a wedding dress floating in a river

Why Miriam Toews Writes

August 29, 2025

A photograph of Miriam Toews

An Analog Solution for Mindful Living

August 28, 2025

Scroll and feather

The Hardest Question for a Writer to Answer

August 27, 2025

A painting of a young woman with her head down on a table, papers strew about around her

June

Daniel J. O’Malley

August 26, 2025

Bird feathers falling over an image of a tree trunk with a hole in the center

If the University of Chicago Won’t Defend the Humanities, Who Will?

Tyler Austin Harper

August 26, 2025

photo illustration of a bust and a graduation cap

Irresistible Contentment

Prageeta Sharma

August 24, 2025

Leaves against the sunlight, with a yellow tint over the entire image

What Parents Lose When They Don’t Read to Their Kids

August 24, 2025

A toddler and baby lay in their mother's lap while she reads a book

In Search of an 11th-Century Novelist in Kyoto

August 22, 2025

A photograph of the woods in Kyoto

Five Baha’i Lessons for a Happier Life

Arthur C. Brooks

August 21, 2025

Illustration of cupped hands holding a shining, yellow smiley face within a pink star

The Writer’s Way

A Tale of Sex and Intrigue in Imperial Kyoto

October 2025 Issue

Picture of Kyoto at night

The Dangerous Legal Strategy Coming for Our Books

Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell

August 20, 2025

Gif of a stack of colored books that slowly disappear until none remain

These Books Won’t Make You a Better Person

August 18, 2025

two large figures facing each other, with one smaller figure in the middle

Paragraph

August 17, 2025

a painting of pastel colored blocks

The Atlantic Daily

Seven Weekend Reads

August 17, 2025

A book at the beach

What Muriel Spark Knew About Childhood

August 15, 2025

A photograph of Muriel Spark writing on a notebook on the floor

Don’t Believe What AI Told You I Said

August 15, 2025

Illustration of a digital Pinocchio

Why So Many MIT Students Are Writing Poetry

August 15, 2025

Abstract illustration featuring swipes of red, blue, pink, and black.

Time-Travel Thursdays

What Does ‘Genius’ Really Mean?

August 14, 2025

human skull with image as brain

Surface Support

Michael D. Snediker

August 10, 2025

A photo-illustration of a man's figure, composed by various white strips, set over a background of a night sky with stars

The Judgments of Muriel Spark

Judith Shulevitz

September 2025 Issue

Illustration of woman wearing a black cardigan over a red collared shirt, holding glasses and sitting behind stack of books, on a mustard-yellow background.

The Atlantic Daily

A Novel That Skewers Meritocracy

August 10, 2025

empty classroom

The Wonder Reader

A Beach Read Can Be Anything You Want It to Be

August 9, 2025

A painting of a woman on a couch reading a book

Reading Mrs. Dalloway Again and Again

August 8, 2025

A still from The Hours and a portrait of Virginia Woolf

Mrs. Dalloway’s Midlife Crisis

September 2025 Issue

Faith

September 2025 Issue

woodcut-style illustration with black birdlike forms on yellow background

The Atlantic Daily

Seven Reads for a Summer Weekend

August 3, 2025

A red towel with a book, flip flops, and sunglasses on the beach