Praise for Freeman’s: Conclusions:
“The definitive issue of a venerated literary journal . . . The tenth and final issue is fittingly devoted to conclusions, and features writing from an all-star cast . . . Every piece in this collection stands on its own and is as expertly faceted as a gem. Filled with expertly crafted stories, essays, and poems, this volume is a triumph.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Praise for Freeman’s:
“There’s an illustrious new literary journal in town . . . [with] fiction, nonfiction, and poetry by new voices and literary heavyweights . . . alike.” —Vogue.com
“A terrific anthology . . . Sure to become a classic in years to come.”—San Francisco Chronicle
“Ambitious.”—O Magazine
“Freeman draws from a global cache of talent . . . An expansive reading experience.”—Kirkus Reviews
“Looking at what John [Freeman] has put together in [his] first edition, I’m struck by how many names I don’t know and how diverse and global it is. My only disappointment is that it’s going to be twice a year—I think we need it four times a year.”—James Wood, Radio Boston
“Illuminating . . . Perfect reading for our ever-accelerating times.”—NPR’s Book Concierge
“Freeman’s is fresh, provocative, engrossing.”—BBC.com
“A first-rate anthology of bold, searching and personal writing by emerging and established writers.”—Minneapolis Star-Tribune
“From the abstract to the literal, there is no shortage of provocative, thoughtful pieces here.”—Publishers Weekly
“Freeman’s sets a new standard for literary journals . . . It’s refreshing and full of nuanced stories that will linger with you long after you finish them.”—Chicago Literati
“[An] infinitely relatable and beautifully crafted prose and poetry anthology . . . Freeman has assembled a thoughtful and profoundly accessible collection of work that connects our vulnerabilities, our expectations and our hopes.”—Newcity Lit
“[A] thrillingly unique collection of voices.”—Toronto Star
★ 2023-07-26
The definitive issue of a venerated literary journal.
For the last decade, Freeman, an author as well as an executive editor at Knopf, has curated a uniquely well-realized literary journal to which he has lent his name, with issues loosely devoted to themes like family, home, power, and animals. The 10th and final issue is fittingly devoted to conclusions, and features writing from an all-star cast, including Sandra Cisneros, Dave Eggers, Omar El Akkad, Louise Erdrich, Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, Denis Johnson, Mieko Kawakami, Rebecca Makkai, Colum McCann, Tommy Orange, and many others, with a fine mix of emerging and established writers. At first glance, that “conclusions” theme seems like a less-than-clever dodge: Every story has a conclusion, and any that doesn’t can be said to resist the constraints of traditional narrative—so any story fits the theme. In the end, though—pardon the pun—the quality of the writing included is such that there’s no need to quibble over Freeman’s criteria one way or the other. In one of three poems by renowned Song Dynasty writer Li Qingzhao, gorgeously translated by Wendy Chen, Li describes “Late spring. Why still / such bitter homesickness? / Ill, I comb my hair, / my regret long as each strand.” In a short essay, Aleksandar Hemon describes how, at the end of a visit, his father would sit down and demand, “Conclusions!” This was a habit that at first annoyed Hemon, but then, “as per the usual process, it became an amusing story I would tell, which then naturally led to my doing the same thing, except ironically”—and then not so ironically. In “The Endlings,” Tania James describes a pair of Neanderthal sisters, “the product of a bizarre and illegal in-vitro experiment,” who escape from their enclosure, and the young mother, on vacation with her husband’s family, who becomes interested in their story. Every piece in this collection stands on its own and is as expertly faceted as a gem.
Filled with expertly crafted stories, essays, and poems, this volume is a triumph.