The Common
@commonmag.bsky.social
The Common is a print and online literary magazine publishing stories, essays, poetry, and art with a modern sense of place. Based at Amherst College, we highlight writers and work from around the world.
"The kinds of tales I like to tell—or seem to wind up telling, whether I want to or not—are those of isolation, alienation, disaffection, solitude, and loneliness"
In a new interview, Jenna Grace Sciuto and Nathaniel Ian Miller discuss Miller’s latest book “Red Dog Farm." buff.ly/QDBroLS
In a new interview, Jenna Grace Sciuto and Nathaniel Ian Miller discuss Miller’s latest book “Red Dog Farm." buff.ly/QDBroLS
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December 8, 2025 at 1:30 PM
"The kinds of tales I like to tell—or seem to wind up telling, whether I want to or not—are those of isolation, alienation, disaffection, solitude, and loneliness"
In a new interview, Jenna Grace Sciuto and Nathaniel Ian Miller discuss Miller’s latest book “Red Dog Farm." buff.ly/QDBroLS
In a new interview, Jenna Grace Sciuto and Nathaniel Ian Miller discuss Miller’s latest book “Red Dog Farm." buff.ly/QDBroLS
“That fucking guy? He couldn’t spell God / if you spotted him the G and the D”
Matt W. Miller's Issue 30 poem, "Oblation," makes peace with paternity. Read the full piece online at the link below.
buff.ly/tXm6Ksv
Matt W. Miller's Issue 30 poem, "Oblation," makes peace with paternity. Read the full piece online at the link below.
buff.ly/tXm6Ksv
December 8, 2025 at 3:30 AM
“That fucking guy? He couldn’t spell God / if you spotted him the G and the D”
Matt W. Miller's Issue 30 poem, "Oblation," makes peace with paternity. Read the full piece online at the link below.
buff.ly/tXm6Ksv
Matt W. Miller's Issue 30 poem, "Oblation," makes peace with paternity. Read the full piece online at the link below.
buff.ly/tXm6Ksv
"In the dream he promises / he will never desire another woman, and she wakes / into another woman’s life"
"In Another Version," Elizabeth Metzger's new poem, follows the changing attitudes of a relationship through hope, excitement, regret, and anxiety. Find it in Issue 30 or using the link below!
"In Another Version," Elizabeth Metzger's new poem, follows the changing attitudes of a relationship through hope, excitement, regret, and anxiety. Find it in Issue 30 or using the link below!
In Another Version
ELIZABETH METZGER <br> Part of her knows he will withdraw again / once they get home. Part of her thinks / this is the new love she’s pined for. / They swing their real invisible children between…
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December 7, 2025 at 7:01 PM
"In the dream he promises / he will never desire another woman, and she wakes / into another woman’s life"
"In Another Version," Elizabeth Metzger's new poem, follows the changing attitudes of a relationship through hope, excitement, regret, and anxiety. Find it in Issue 30 or using the link below!
"In Another Version," Elizabeth Metzger's new poem, follows the changing attitudes of a relationship through hope, excitement, regret, and anxiety. Find it in Issue 30 or using the link below!
"It is as if I were seeing time / or the whole story I once knew / laid across the altarpiece of my mind"
In her latest poem, Annie Schumacher assembles fragments from everyday life and finds revelation within the self. Check it out below!
In her latest poem, Annie Schumacher assembles fragments from everyday life and finds revelation within the self. Check it out below!
The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa
ANNIE SCHUMACHER <br> It is as if I were seeing time / or the whole story I once knew / laid across the altarpiece of my mind / as piercing and startlingly beautiful / as the glance of the beloved.…
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December 6, 2025 at 7:01 PM
"It is as if I were seeing time / or the whole story I once knew / laid across the altarpiece of my mind"
In her latest poem, Annie Schumacher assembles fragments from everyday life and finds revelation within the self. Check it out below!
In her latest poem, Annie Schumacher assembles fragments from everyday life and finds revelation within the self. Check it out below!
"You’ll feel the song and dream of sorrowful voices. / and that tear-drop beneath your fingertips— / like a string stretched to the heavens."
In Issue 30's Ukraine Portfolio, Moisei Fishbein's work has been translated by John Hennessy and Ostap Kin with all its tenderness intact.
In Issue 30's Ukraine Portfolio, Moisei Fishbein's work has been translated by John Hennessy and Ostap Kin with all its tenderness intact.
Moisei Fishbein: Poems from Ukraine
MOISEI FISHBEIN <br> And stay like that, and live / until you’re fully alive, / live in your skin, and live / as in strange primordial times / when waves and the wind heard / no voices between them,…
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December 6, 2025 at 3:02 PM
"You’ll feel the song and dream of sorrowful voices. / and that tear-drop beneath your fingertips— / like a string stretched to the heavens."
In Issue 30's Ukraine Portfolio, Moisei Fishbein's work has been translated by John Hennessy and Ostap Kin with all its tenderness intact.
In Issue 30's Ukraine Portfolio, Moisei Fishbein's work has been translated by John Hennessy and Ostap Kin with all its tenderness intact.
Transport yourself to the dinner table in Søgne, Norway, the fresh start apartment in Ditmas Park, New York and the performance venue of Temple, New Hampshire with Julia Toro’s recently published dispatch, available on The Common now!
buff.ly/xGQoWbj
buff.ly/xGQoWbj
thecommononline.org
December 3, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Transport yourself to the dinner table in Søgne, Norway, the fresh start apartment in Ditmas Park, New York and the performance venue of Temple, New Hampshire with Julia Toro’s recently published dispatch, available on The Common now!
buff.ly/xGQoWbj
buff.ly/xGQoWbj
“I go up— / to the empty middle of the gymnasium, put my teeth to the mesh / and invent a direction.”
Listen to Lauren Camp read her Issue 30 Poem “Small Mariners” in a brand new recording, available online now. buff.ly/qZaU4og
Listen to Lauren Camp read her Issue 30 Poem “Small Mariners” in a brand new recording, available online now. buff.ly/qZaU4og
December 2, 2025 at 2:03 PM
“I go up— / to the empty middle of the gymnasium, put my teeth to the mesh / and invent a direction.”
Listen to Lauren Camp read her Issue 30 Poem “Small Mariners” in a brand new recording, available online now. buff.ly/qZaU4og
Listen to Lauren Camp read her Issue 30 Poem “Small Mariners” in a brand new recording, available online now. buff.ly/qZaU4og
Our Postcard Auction closes today! Now is your last chance to win a personalized, handwritten note from award-winning writers and artists, like singer-songwriter Craig Finn, frontman of The Hold Steady! Place your final bids at buff.ly/jDYIFec
December 1, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Our Postcard Auction closes today! Now is your last chance to win a personalized, handwritten note from award-winning writers and artists, like singer-songwriter Craig Finn, frontman of The Hold Steady! Place your final bids at buff.ly/jDYIFec
Bidding for our Author Postcard Auction closes today! Sneak in a last minute bid for a chance to win a personalized note from award-winning writers like Monica Wood, author of How to Read a Book, The One-in-a-Million Boy, and When We Were the Kennedys. Find more information at buff.ly/DQD6qXw
December 1, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Bidding for our Author Postcard Auction closes today! Sneak in a last minute bid for a chance to win a personalized note from award-winning writers like Monica Wood, author of How to Read a Book, The One-in-a-Million Boy, and When We Were the Kennedys. Find more information at buff.ly/DQD6qXw
Today is your last chance to win personalized notes from acclaimed authors through our Postcard Auction! Place your bids on writers like Guggenheim and MacArthur Fellow, Yiyun Li (@appletwigli.bsky.social), before the auction closes! Find more information at buff.ly/bvQAKSw
December 1, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Today is your last chance to win personalized notes from acclaimed authors through our Postcard Auction! Place your bids on writers like Guggenheim and MacArthur Fellow, Yiyun Li (@appletwigli.bsky.social), before the auction closes! Find more information at buff.ly/bvQAKSw
Calling all fans of Viet Thanh Nguyen @viet_t_nguyen! Today is the LAST day to get a handwritten, personalized postcard from one of your favorite authors. Click the link below and treat yourself to the perfect holiday gift this season!
Viet Thanh Nguyen
Receive a handwritten note from Viet Thanh Nguyen: Vietnamese-American author and winner of the Pulitzer Prize.
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December 1, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Calling all fans of Viet Thanh Nguyen @viet_t_nguyen! Today is the LAST day to get a handwritten, personalized postcard from one of your favorite authors. Click the link below and treat yourself to the perfect holiday gift this season!
Today is the LAST day to get a personalized, handwritten postcard from bestselling author Stephen Graham Jones @sgj.bsky.social. Click the link below and treat yourself to the perfect holiday gift!
Stephen Graham Jones
Stephen Graham Jones is the NYT bestselling author of nearly thirty novels and collections.
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December 1, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Today is the LAST day to get a personalized, handwritten postcard from bestselling author Stephen Graham Jones @sgj.bsky.social. Click the link below and treat yourself to the perfect holiday gift!
Personalized postcards make great gifts. A personalized postcard from Chris Pavone, best-selling thriller author of Two Nights in Lisbon and The Doorman, is the best gift. Today (by 12PM) is the last day to bid on a handwritten postcard from Chris! buff.ly/Z4WLfn4
December 1, 2025 at 2:03 PM
Personalized postcards make great gifts. A personalized postcard from Chris Pavone, best-selling thriller author of Two Nights in Lisbon and The Doorman, is the best gift. Today (by 12PM) is the last day to bid on a handwritten postcard from Chris! buff.ly/Z4WLfn4
Vendela Vida is the award-winning author of six books, including The Diver’s Clothes Lie Empty and national bestseller, We Run the Tides. Today (by 12PM) is the last day to place your bid in our Postcard Auction to win a handwritten postcard from the author!
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buff.ly/PWwu1ah
December 1, 2025 at 1:03 PM
Vendela Vida is the award-winning author of six books, including The Diver’s Clothes Lie Empty and national bestseller, We Run the Tides. Today (by 12PM) is the last day to place your bid in our Postcard Auction to win a handwritten postcard from the author!
buff.ly/PWwu1ah
buff.ly/PWwu1ah
You could be the lucky recipient of a personalized postcard from New-York Times Best selling author Christopher Moore, writer of Lamb, Razzmatazz and most recently, Anima Rising. Today (by 12PM) is your last chance to bid in our Postcard Auction! buff.ly/LRRckyJ
December 1, 2025 at 1:03 PM
You could be the lucky recipient of a personalized postcard from New-York Times Best selling author Christopher Moore, writer of Lamb, Razzmatazz and most recently, Anima Rising. Today (by 12PM) is your last chance to bid in our Postcard Auction! buff.ly/LRRckyJ
It wasn’t love exactly, but Chakir did take to Naima. She found nothing to object to in his appearance or demeanor, and was in fact somewhat drawn to his air of placid gloom.
AJ Bermudez' The Sixteenth Brother tells a lush tale of family and betrayal in Morocco. Issue 30.
AJ Bermudez' The Sixteenth Brother tells a lush tale of family and betrayal in Morocco. Issue 30.
The Sixteenth Brother
A. J. BERMUDEZ <br> Now, Khalida notes, here’s where it gets interesting. She explains that, under Moroccan inheritance law, the vote on what to do with a property must be unanimous among…
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November 30, 2025 at 7:02 PM
It wasn’t love exactly, but Chakir did take to Naima. She found nothing to object to in his appearance or demeanor, and was in fact somewhat drawn to his air of placid gloom.
AJ Bermudez' The Sixteenth Brother tells a lush tale of family and betrayal in Morocco. Issue 30.
AJ Bermudez' The Sixteenth Brother tells a lush tale of family and betrayal in Morocco. Issue 30.
Win a handwritten, personalized postcard from Ben Shattuck, author of Six Walks: In the Footsteps of Henry David Thoreau, the New Yorker magazine Best Book of 2022, Wall Street Journal Best Book of Spring, and New York Times Best Book of Summer. Bid now before Dec. 1! buff.ly/UJLE0gq
November 30, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Win a handwritten, personalized postcard from Ben Shattuck, author of Six Walks: In the Footsteps of Henry David Thoreau, the New Yorker magazine Best Book of 2022, Wall Street Journal Best Book of Spring, and New York Times Best Book of Summer. Bid now before Dec. 1! buff.ly/UJLE0gq
Jayne Anne Phillips is one of the best authors working today. If you are a fan of her sweeping stories on family, identity, and memory, you can win a handwritten, personalized postcard in this year's Postcard Auction. Learn more at the link below! buff.ly/QkIfnwR
November 30, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Jayne Anne Phillips is one of the best authors working today. If you are a fan of her sweeping stories on family, identity, and memory, you can win a handwritten, personalized postcard in this year's Postcard Auction. Learn more at the link below! buff.ly/QkIfnwR
If you loved In the Time of Butterflies or How the García Girls Lost Their Accents, then you'd love a handwritten postcard from their author, Julia Alvarez (@writerjalvarez.bsky.social). You can still place bids in our Author Postcard Auction, which closes tomorrow! Find more info at buff.ly/9ULqmOz
November 30, 2025 at 7:01 PM
If you loved In the Time of Butterflies or How the García Girls Lost Their Accents, then you'd love a handwritten postcard from their author, Julia Alvarez (@writerjalvarez.bsky.social). You can still place bids in our Author Postcard Auction, which closes tomorrow! Find more info at buff.ly/9ULqmOz
If you love John Irving as much as we do, we know you'll be interested in our Author Postcard Auction! Enter now for a chance to win a handwritten note from the prolific voice behind A Prayer for Owen Meany and, most recently, Queen Esther. Bidding closes soon, so enter now at buff.ly/UmwS6po
November 30, 2025 at 3:02 PM
If you love John Irving as much as we do, we know you'll be interested in our Author Postcard Auction! Enter now for a chance to win a handwritten note from the prolific voice behind A Prayer for Owen Meany and, most recently, Queen Esther. Bidding closes soon, so enter now at buff.ly/UmwS6po
Time is running out to get a personalized postcard from beloved author Elizabeth Strout @lizstrout.bsky.social! These postcards make unique and special gifts for you or a literature-loving friend for this holiday season!
Elizabeth Strout
Receive a handwritten note from novelist Elizabeth Strout, winner of the Pulitzer Prize.
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November 30, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Time is running out to get a personalized postcard from beloved author Elizabeth Strout @lizstrout.bsky.social! These postcards make unique and special gifts for you or a literature-loving friend for this holiday season!
Time is running out to get a personalized postcard from bestselling author Katie Kitamura @penguinrandomhouse.bsky.social! Click the link below for a chance to win a unique and literary holiday gift!
Katie Kitamura
Receive a handwritten note from Katie Kitamura, bestselling author and art critic.
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November 30, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Time is running out to get a personalized postcard from bestselling author Katie Kitamura @penguinrandomhouse.bsky.social! Click the link below for a chance to win a unique and literary holiday gift!
"They walk to the ocean, talk about all the relationships / that have fallen apart around them"
Elizabeth Metzger's Issue 30 poem, "In Another Version," carefully and painfully examines the ways in which relationships permit and restrict individual change. Find it in Issue 30 or check it out below!
Elizabeth Metzger's Issue 30 poem, "In Another Version," carefully and painfully examines the ways in which relationships permit and restrict individual change. Find it in Issue 30 or check it out below!
In Another Version
ELIZABETH METZGER <br> Part of her knows he will withdraw again / once they get home. Part of her thinks / this is the new love she’s pined for. / They swing their real invisible children between…
buff.ly
November 30, 2025 at 3:01 PM
"They walk to the ocean, talk about all the relationships / that have fallen apart around them"
Elizabeth Metzger's Issue 30 poem, "In Another Version," carefully and painfully examines the ways in which relationships permit and restrict individual change. Find it in Issue 30 or check it out below!
Elizabeth Metzger's Issue 30 poem, "In Another Version," carefully and painfully examines the ways in which relationships permit and restrict individual change. Find it in Issue 30 or check it out below!
Sayaka Murata's dreamlike novels from have ensnared the hearts and imaginations of readers everywhere. Until December 1st, you can win a personalized note from the author herself, just in time for the holiday season!
Click below to participate before time runs out!
buff.ly/VdUJVLf
Click below to participate before time runs out!
buff.ly/VdUJVLf
November 30, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Sayaka Murata's dreamlike novels from have ensnared the hearts and imaginations of readers everywhere. Until December 1st, you can win a personalized note from the author herself, just in time for the holiday season!
Click below to participate before time runs out!
buff.ly/VdUJVLf
Click below to participate before time runs out!
buff.ly/VdUJVLf
Anne Tyler, author of "Redhead by the Side of the Road," is one of the many authors participating in our postcard auction, and time's running out to win a personalized note from any one of them! Click the link below to participate!
Don't forget: the auctions close December 1st.
buff.ly/O0DsMoR
Don't forget: the auctions close December 1st.
buff.ly/O0DsMoR
November 29, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Anne Tyler, author of "Redhead by the Side of the Road," is one of the many authors participating in our postcard auction, and time's running out to win a personalized note from any one of them! Click the link below to participate!
Don't forget: the auctions close December 1st.
buff.ly/O0DsMoR
Don't forget: the auctions close December 1st.
buff.ly/O0DsMoR