The Paris Review Issue 253

by Emily Stokes (Editor), Kelley Deane McKinney (Managing Editor), Dennis Zhou (Senior Editor)

Eliot Weinberger on the Art of the Essay: “I have no interest in first-person investigation. Personally, I’ve never found myself an interesting person.”

Maggie Nelson on the Art of Nonfiction: “It’s important to notice when the spark of magic or curiosity is there and what snuffs it out, and being around too many writers, for me, snuffs it out.”

Prose by Anne Carson, Renny Gong, Aurora Huiza, Jordy Rosenberg, Bud Smith, and Yan Lianke.

Poetry by Roque Dalton, Ishion Hutchinson, Patricia Lockwood, Mariano Melgar, Eileen Myles, Katie Peterson, and authors unknown.

Art by Talia Chetrit, Martha Diamond, and Jamian Juliano-Villani; cover by Issy Wood.

Genres: Poetry, Short Stories

245 pages, Paperback

Published September 1, 2025

Reviews

[Bri · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is by far my favorite edition of The Paris Review I’ve ever read. As far as contemporary everything goes, I am definitely the target demographic of these wonderfully considerate stories, which broach the everyday now with precision, care, and humor. Get this one if you get any!! Skyhawks made me cry, while reading, and while thinking about it while driving. Masterfully, masterfully done. The Maggie Nelson interview probably changed my life. Thank you to the editor for this one <3

[Olivia Kane]

favorite stories

“eiffel towers”
“skyhawks”

favorite poetry

“cave paintings”
“i wasn’t always this ugly”

[hafsah · Rating 3 out of 5]

highlights were aurora huiza’s ‘eiffel towers’ and martha diamond’s paintings

[Sarah Foulc · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m hooked and want all the seasons 😍

[Raffael Hirt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the interviews with Eliot Weinberger and Maggie Nelson as well as Bud Smith's "Skyhawks."

[Maggi Z · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Art of Non-Fiction #13 - Maggie Nelson

[Stephen De · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorite issues to date with a stacked deck for sure when it comes to having Weinberger and Nelson for the interviews. Maybe I thought the Weinberger interview was more interesting from an interview perspective, but reflecting on the Nelson interview, I think there is something to be said about a non-fiction writer who writes such personal books being a bit cagey/distant during an interview - something about being intimately aware, maybe too aware, of how arduous a process it is to translate one's actual self into words.

Anne Carson, I don't do Innocents: maybe the weakest showing of the fiction, though this is mainly because the other stories are so good. Maybe I just didn't like the formatting on this and I'm usually a sucker for going off the map with formatting.

Renny Gong, Ping-Pong Kids: great story, plunges the reader into a new world (unless they're a ping-pong savant, I guess) but works to really ground itself in the people at the ping-pong camp, not the game of ping-pong itself. Great sensory details as well.

Aurora Huiza, Eiffel Towers: reminded me of my time in NYC just kind of making it through the days, not really sure what the future held in store but still plunging ahead all the while learning things I didn't expect to learn.

Yan Lianke, Plants, Stones, Dirt, and Sky: I know it was a simple story but I really loved this one. I could watch this old man build their tomb all day and listen to him argue with his wife about who would die first all night. Something sweet about the depiction of people married so long, half "I love you" and half "I'm stuck with you, aren't I?"

Jordy Rosenberg, My Life, by Barbara Rosenberg: Look, I'm a sucker for a neurotic narrator who just keeps going and going and going. Reminded me of my Italian-American mother the whole time through, though a tad bit smarter. Really the classic New York Jewish vs New York Italian divide.

Bud Smith, Skyhawks: Maybe my favorite? Definitely my favorite. This is, like My Life, due to total bias but if you've never worked a job with folks like this, you don't know what you're missing. There is a combination of all these oddities and personalities that leaves you with what more boring people would call "magical realism."

[Michael Gladish · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid issue. I'd give it a 4.5 on my scale. Great, interesting interviews with Eliot Weinberger and Maggie Nelson. Most of the interviews in the review are conducted with people who I know little about, but I truly enjoy them, learn a lot and often follow up reading the authors works. Two short stories were outstanding this time around: Ping Pong Kids by Renny Gong was often funny, but also disturbing in ways. The pressure on children to excel in sports here in the US and especially abroad is on full display here. The second story I loved was Skyhawks, by Bud Smith. A gritty, warty look at the oil refining business in New Jersey. The balance of humor and pathos the author employs worked perfectly for me. It's a story I'll remember for a long time.

[Santiago M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Standout interviews of [[Maggie Nelson]], and especially [[Eliot Weinberger]].

Good poems by Roque Dalton, Ishion Hutchinson, and especially [[Katie Peterson]] with her *Elegy as the Four Seasons*—displaying some restraint (thank god!).

Mediocre short stories, except for *Skyhawks* by Bud Smith, leaving me curious for his novel *Teenager*, and his forthcoming novel.

[Jerry Muzsik · Rating 4 out of 5]

I LIKED (in order of liking):

1. YAN LIANKE: https://www.theparisreview.org/fictio...
2. RENNY GONG (PING PONG STORY): https://www.theparisreview.org/fictio...
3. EVERYTHING ELSE

WHY DO I LIKE CHINESE FICTION SO MUCH????

[Joni · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

Favorites:

Fiction:
• “Plants, Stones, Dirt, and Sky” by Yan Lianke
• “Skyhawks” by Bud Smith

Non-fiction:
• The Art of Nonfiction No. 13 with Maggie Nelson

Poetry:
• “My Nocturne” by Ishion Hutchinson

[Julia Atkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maggie Nelson's interview stood out, as did Renny Gong's Ping-Pong Kids.

[Jessica Roberts]

poll: is it socially acceptable to add the paris review to my goodreads? still trying to figure that out

[Timothy · Rating 4 out of 5]

pretty good literature in here this issue

[Bryce]

another solid edition. The Hittite poetry was neat. Interview with Eliot Weinburger appreciative. Every prose story was a delight.

[Emily Pencil · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the only edition where I have read every single piece. Wonderful, I loved it.

[Joseph Duncan]

Great interviews in this one

[Hans Oz]

Read 'I Don't Do Innocents' by Anne Carson.

[desara · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5* some were really good some were really bad but that’s ok ! loved the interviews and i still think about “plants stones dirt and sky”—definitely my favorite

[william · Rating 4 out of 5]

so so varied and so so illustrative