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Introduction

Thomas Meaney

‘Culture has been bound up since the beginning with extraction.’

The editor introduces the issue.

Prairie Dogs

Benjamin Kunkel

‘After making sure our guests all had the drinks and/or drugs they required, I put on a Sun Ra record.’

A short story by Benjamin Kunkel.

Monkey Army

Eka Kurniawan

‘He did what people told him to do. He was a machine.’

A short story by Eka Kurniawan, translated by Annie Tucker.

The True Depth of a Cave

Rachel Kushner

‘When you live underground, among the things you discover is that you are not alone.’

Fiction by Rachel Kushner.

The Accursed Mountains

Christian Lorentzen

‘The heart was something that healed, but the best you could do with a broken tooth was to keep it in your pocket.’

Christian Lorentzen on tooth extraction.

As They Laid Down Their Cables

Laleh Khalili

‘The Eilat–Ashkelon pipeline went into operation in 1969, on the eve of the nationalisation of oil.’

Laleh Khalili on energy politics and the ‘secret’ pipeline transporting crude oil across southern Israel.

A Flat Place

Noreen Masud

‘If all things were equal, what were we even doing here? Why weren’t we lying on our living-room floors, watching the dance of the dust, today and every day?’

Memoir by Noreen Masud.

Two Poems

Momtaza Mehri

‘Rub my scalp and tell me who I could have been. / Feed me a morsel or two.’

Two poems by Momtaza Mehri.

Generation Gap

Sarah Moss

‘I’d been dubious about his company at first.’

Sarah Moss on watching Shakespeare with her twelve-year-old son.

Generation Gap

Oluwaseun Olayiwola

‘Listening to three white poets, whom I suspect are academics, talk about the state of poetry.’

Oluwaseun Olayiwola eavesdrops on an older generation.

Introduction

Thomas Meaney

‘The Generations issue of Granta offers different age cohorts a chance for mutual inspection.’

Thomas Meaney introduces the issue.

The Sensitivity Reader

Andrew O’Hagan

‘Human nature is not improved by concealment, especially when it comes to the past.’

A short story by Andrew O’Hagan.

[3. Ekphrastic]

Nam Le

‘Tinge of colour decay.’

Poetry by Nam Le.

The Attaché’s Wife

Karan Mahajan

“I’m from here. I grew up here. In fact, that’s why the government invited me back for this work.”

Short fiction by Karan Mahajan.