HR 60 Editorial

Welcome to the sixtieth issue of Harvard Review, a milestone compilation of unexpected drama, gorgeous poetry, and crackerjack prose. We have the surprise coincidence of not just one but two memoirs of troubled siblings; a fabulous story by Molly Dektar, also of childhood but with troubled parents; a wide-ranging conversation with the late great Sam Shepard; the first installment of a dazzling epic by Campbell McGrath; new fiction by Daphne Kalotay and Paul Mandelbaum; poems by Shane McCrae and Rae Armantrout; an exquisite new prose translation by Forrest Gander; and so very much more. 

In other news, our inaugural Harvard Review Chapbook Prize for an unpublished novella has closed, and we will be announcing the winner this spring, with the chapbook to be published in the fall of 2023. The plan is to rotate this prize through the genres: next up, a prize for the longform essay and, following that, a poetry prize. As I joked at the launch event for the novella edition, this makes the prize maximally complicated to administer but also maximally fun. 

I also want to acknowledge the generosity of the Harvard University English Department, which is now partnering with Harvard Review to support a range of editorial positions for both undergraduate and graduate students. We love working with these students and we believe they benefit from working with us. And, finally, a word of thanks to the many people who have contributed to Harvard Review in the past year. We rely on our friends and benefactors and are immensely grateful to those who have pledged their support by making a gift or taking out a subscription. Here’s to you and the next sixty years!