Valeria Luiselli Interviewed in the New Yorker

Valeria Luiselli, Sadie Samuelson Levy Professor in Languages and Literature at Bard College, was interviewed in the New Yorker about her story “Predictions and Presentiments,” which appeared in the magazine and is drawn from her upcoming book, Beginning Middle End. The story explores family relationships, stages of life, and the relationship between memory and identity. The audio version will incorporate sounds that Luiselli recorded in Sicily, where both the piece and the novel take place. “Over the past year, we’ve collected field recordings from Sicily and the Aeolians: sea sounds, underwater currents, winds, volcanoes, fire, dust storms, rainstorms, church bells, fish markets,”  Luiselli said. “They are not meant to illustrate or enhance the narrative. Rather, they constitute a kind of emotional undercurrent.” 

The Written Arts Program at Bard encourages students to experiment with their writing in a context sensitive to intellectual, historical, and social realities. Students are encouraged to consider writing as an act of critical and creative engagement, a way of interrogating and translating the world.

Post Date: 02-16-2026