Our Favorite Cultural Artifacts of 2025

Our editors and staff on their most meaningful cultural encounters this year

Dec 22 • The Yale Review

22

1

Behind the Essay: Anahid Nersessian

On divorce and writing ambivalence

Dec 18 • The Yale Review

25

3

3

September 2025

When Is a Story Finished?

Clare Sestanovich on Katherine Dunn's "Process" and our obsession with endings

Sep 18 • The Yale Review

27

1

3

Behind the Essay: Audrey Wollen

On feminism, writing from the underglow, and taking the scenic route

Sep 13 • The Yale Review

99

5

29

Rec Letter: The Books That Help Us Write

The Yale Review editors share the books that have shaped how they think on the page

Sep 5 • The Yale Review

159

4

20

August 2025

Notes on Note-Taking

Joanna Biggs reflects on Joan Didion’s notes—and offers a prompt for your own

Aug 1 • The Yale Review

656

12

59

June 2025

Behind the Essay: Garth Greenwell

Writing about morality, sex, and discomfort—plus a few words of advice

Jun 14 • The Yale Review and Garth Greenwell

83

1

16

Rec Letter: Edmund White (1940–2025)

A tribute—and reading list—from the editors of The Yale Review

Jun 7 • The Yale Review and Samuel Ernest

18

4

7

A First Look at Our Summer Issue

Our Summer Fiction Issue is coming soon—with new work by Rachel Cusk, Bryan Washington, and more. Plus: a writing prompt and seven first lines.

Jun 5 • The Yale Review and Meghan O'Rourke

53

2

9

Welcome to "Back Matter"

A new companion to America’s oldest "little" magazine

Jun 3 • The Yale Review

54

8

4