Read the winning piece of our 2025 Nonfiction Contest “Through the Mirror” by Jessie Cato selected by Lucy Ives.

Read

Spring 1950 • Vol. XII No. 2 • Poetry |

Around the Fish 2: After Paul Klee

What did the tom-tom whisper,
Or the Christmas candy dance?
The falling rain became the brain
And the fish’s eye a glance.

Does the tumbler on the left contain
The mud of seven seas?
And on the right, are those the ruins
Of the Antipodes?

Already have an account? Log in

Join KR for even more to read.

Sign up for a free account and read any five pieces a month.
Sign Up and Read for Free



Or become a subscriber today and get complete, immediate access to our digital archives at every subscription level.

Read More

Waterwall Blues

By Howard Moss

I gnarled me where the spinster treeUnwound its green hosannaAnd built its sorrow leaf by knee,A lachrymal cabana.The self same night I cracked my cowl,Unwound myself with Anna:Speech by speech […]

The Cricket

By Howard Moss

There was a day when Swifter the world turned, Matting the Queen Anne’s Lace on the hill, and The fern and its thin root Lifted a long beard Like a […]

Upcoming
Workshops

Subscribe

Your free registration with The Kenyon Review includes access to exclusive content, early access to program registration, and more.

Donate

With your support, we’ll continue 
to cultivate talent and publish extraordinary literature from diverse voices around the world.