Kenyon Review

We are thrilled to announce that the 2025 Kenyon Review Award for Literary Achievement will be presented to Viet Thanh Nguyen. The Award will be given at a Gala on Nov. 7, 2025. Gala proceeds provide critical support of our writing workshops. Learn more: kenyonreview.org/krala/

New poems in @kenyonreview

We are deeply saddened by the death of Fanny Howe. She appeared in our pages as a contributor/interviewee & taught at Kenyon College. She means so much to our community & the entire literary world. We are sharing this conversation with her from '04 here: kenyonreview.org/conversation/f…

Gambier is buzzing with excitement and brilliance after the influx of all these writers gathering on @KenyonCollege's campus. A big warm welcome to all participants, fellows, and faculty for session 2 of our Summer Writers Workshops!

You can read & listen to "In Re-Memoriam" by Cynthia Nwakudu—finalist of our 2024 Short Nonfiction Contest—at the link. A beautiful and methodical recollection, the prose in "In Re-Memoriam" shines through with poignant devotion to its subjects. kenyonreview.org/piece/in-re-me…

In "Open Space Preserve" by Amanda Moore beauty arrives right on time like a needed breath. Its couplets unravel with such precision and grace. kenyonreview.org/piece/open-spa…

This week’s writing tip is from one of America’s legendary poets, Alice Notley, 2002 winner of the Griffin Poetry Prize. She was the author of more than 40 books of poetry. Among her many honours, Notley received an Arts and Letters Award from the American Academy of Arts and…

“Mohammed says roosters can see angels, and that every time we hear them crow, they are looking at angels.” “Abu Jamil’s House: Portraits of Gaza" by Laura Kraftowitz is runner-up for our 2024 Nonfiction Contest. Read on: kenyonreview.org/piece/abu-jami…

Like a winding staircase, each line break and rabbit hole leads to a new surprise. We really dig the play at work here in "Rabbit Holes" by Malia Maxwell! kenyonreview.org/piece/rabbit-h…

Huge shoutout to KR critic at large Honorée Fanonne Jeffers for this well-deserved and glowing review of “Misbehaving at the Crossroads” in @nytimes! nytimes.com/2025/06/21/boo…

“The Inventor of Whiteness” by @bardsbesidebars is ingenious in its approach—delivered with such beauty and control. Read & listen to it here: kenyonreview.org/piece/the-inve…

"My honest operation? (An operation you will not tell my lola about.) I run an underground spider-fighting ring." We wish we could quote all of "Spider Fight" by E. E. Hussey. It is a staggering, beautiful piece: kenyonreview.org/piece/spider-f…

“Theirs is also an honest operation. I admire that. My honest operation? (An operation you will not tell my lola about.) I run an underground spider-fighting ring.” kenyonreview.org/piece/spider-f…

A big shout out to our Session One Residential Workshop participants! We're so excited to have you here to celebrate and nurture your vital work.