Maraú Península: 2023

The author Justin Torres standing on top of a large planter. Torres wears brown shoes, dark pants, and a red-and-cream shirt. There are two rows of palm trees behind Torres in the background.

Justin Torres’s Art of Exposure and Concealment

The author, whose novel “Blackouts” won the National Book Award last month, talks about sex in fiction, censorship, and the pleasure of what goes on in the shadows.

By Katy Waldman

An illustration of a book with a knife sliced through the spine, with fallen paper shavings.

Editor’s Picks

A black-and-white photo of a hand writing a list in a New Year Resolutions notebook.

Annals of Technology

Why We Make Resolutions (and Why They Fail)

From 2013: Against the odds, we keep telling ourselves that we can lose weight, save money, and go to the gym.

By Maria Konnikova

Illustration of a small figure journeying up the body of a large reclined figure.

Annals of Inquiry

Why Are We So Bad at Getting Better?

Convalescence used to be central to medicine. We don’t talk about it anymore.

By Dhruv Khullar

The author’s father in 1943, at age three.

Culture Desk

“Auld Lang Syne” and Four Generations of My Family

From 2015: Americans expect to hear this song every New Year, but few know what the Scottish lyrics actually mean.

By Allyson Hobbs

A top hat with long legs on a beige background.

Trivia Break: Which singer’s lyric “Got a long list of ex-lovers,” from one of her No. 1 hits, is often misheard as “All the lonely Starbucks lovers”? Play our Names of 2023 quiz pack »

An illustration of three books on a windowsill with an eye and a cloud appearing through the window.

Culture Dept.

Poems

“Federico García Lorca, Coney Island, 1929”

“For the moment a wave will make a splash.”

By Paul Muldoon

A man surrounded by towering piles of paper.

Poems

“Leaving”

“Not the pleasure of lovers but the pleasure of letters, / a pleasure like weather, delayed and prepared for.”

By Madeleine Cravens

Winter Items in The New Yorker Store! Stay warm all season with hats, hoodies, sweatshirts, and more. Browse and buy »

An illustration of a crossword puzzle wrapped around the arms of a person.

Fun & Games Dept.

A crossword-covered lock and pencil-shaped key on a pink background.

Cryptic Crossword

The Cryptic Puzzle

Pair of kissers discussed flowers: six letters.

By Paolo Pasco

Couples kissing as confetti falls in Times Square.

Daily Shouts

New Year’s Plans?

From 2015: We’re going to do dinner at that place near grandma’s beforehand, the one she likes with the chicken pot pie. Maybe around five-fifteen or so.

By Matt Passet