American writer and civil rights voice
Valeria Luiselli’s Fourth novel Beginning Middle End follows a narrator touring Europe with her daughter, searching for a narrative arc. Critics note episodic chapters and fragmented structure, yet the work probes memory, myth, and family across Sicily, Germany, and the Netherlands. The narrative struggles to cohere, but it remains a sharp meditation on storytelling itself.
The In Pursuit project has released essays on 43 presidents and 30 first ladies, with Obama and Clinton among contributors. Colleen Shogan curates the series to teach lessons from history beyond today’s politics, and the work is being published weekly through December.