Praise for Freeman's: Power:
"From the abstract to the literal, there is no shortage of provocative, thoughtful pieces here."—Publishers Weekly
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 this 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 4 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
“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
2018-07-31
Essays, stories, and poems about power, from the personal to the political and back again.
This anthology covers a lot of ground—geographically, temporally, and emotionally. It begins in the 1970s, with editor Freeman reminiscing about his childhood, and ranges from Julia Alvarez's defiant rewriting of Homer to Eka Kurniawan's disheartening tale about an abused Indonesian monkey who, despite the cruelty of her master, still dreams of becoming a human being. Plus there's a stop in France, where enfant terrible Édouard Louis blames "Macron, El Khomri, Hollande, Hirsch, Sarkozy, Bertrand, [and] Chirac" for his father's wretched health ("The history of your life is the history of these people who have lined up to cut you down"), while in Canada, Margaret Atwood reports on a global outbreak of female lycanthropy: "Look at their red-rimmed paws! / Look at their gnashing eyeballs!…Hairy all over, this belle dame, / and it's not a sweater." So what if Freeman hasn't pieced together a coherent anthology? With a word as famously amorphous as "power" for his theme, how could he? (In his introduction he writes that "Everything that was, I discovered, was enacted by power." That doesn't exactly narrow it down.) But Freeman assembles such a talented roster that it doesn't ultimately matter; each contribution is good enough to keep the reader interested in what's coming next. This is true right up to the last, and best, entry: a short story by the Japanese novelist Kanako Nishi. It is a master class on the subtle and shifting power dynamics between genders and generations.
A motley collection of superb writing.