Lt. General H.R. McMaster, U.S. Army, ret. FROM FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR AND BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF DERELICTION OF DUTY Battlegrounds: The Fight to Defend the Free World is a bold and provocative re-examination of the most critical foreign policy and national security challenges that face the United States, and an urgent call to compete to preserve America’s standing and security. Also available from HarperAudio, HarperLuxe, and Harper ebooks. Discover great authors, exclusive offers and more at hc.com DAVID BROMWICH: IS AMERICA UNGOVERNABLE? GARTH GREENWELL ON ART AND “RELEVANCE” MARTIN AMIS TRIES AUTOFICTION LEBANON’S GREAT UNRAVELING HARPER’S MAGAZINE/NOVEMBER 2020 $8.99 DAVID BROMWICH: IS AMERICA UNGOVERNABLE? MARTIN AMIS TRIES AUTOFICTION LEBANON’S GREAT UNRAVELING GARTH GREENWELL ON ART AND “RELEVANCE” HARPER’S MAGAZINE/NOVEMBER 2020 $7.99 DAVID BROMWICH: IS AMERICA UNGOVERNABLE? MARTIN AMIS TRIES AUTOFICTION LEBANON’S GREAT UNRAVELING GARTH GREENWELL ON ART AND “RELEVANCE” HARPER’S MAGAZINE/NOVEMBER 2020 utexaspress.com university of texas press This Far and No Further Photographs Inspired by the Voting Rights Movement BY WILLIAM ABRANOWICZ FOREWORD BY NIKOLE HANNAH-JONES In This Far and No Farther, photographer William Abranowicz delivers more than one hundred contemporary images of the places that shaped the civil rights movement, proving the Edmund Pettus Bridge and other historic sites still have stories to tell. $45.00 hardcover | February Friday Night Lives Photos from the Town, the Team, and After BY ROBERT CLARK Robert Clark returns to the photographs of the Permian Panthers he took thirty years ago for the iconic Friday Night Lights, with a selection of his previously unpublished photos plus portraits of the players and the community as they are today. $45.00 hardcover | November Fangirls Scenes from Modern Music Culture BY HANNAH EWENS Touching on her own experiences as a music obsessive, Hannah Ewens captures the joy and community of young women bonded by their musical fandoms and the impact these fangirls have on the artists they love. $17.95 paperback | August Empire of the Superheroes America’s Comic Book Creators and the Making of a Billion-Dollar Industry BY MARK COTTA VAZ A detailed look at the evolution of superhero comics from cheap pulp products to a billion-dollar film and publishing industry, and the artists’ battles for their intellectual property and financial freedom. $34.95 hardcover | January Lake|Flato Nature, Place, Craft & Restraint BY LAKE|FLATO ARCHITECTS Since 1984 Lake|Flato Architects has been winning awards for its unique buildings committed to sustainability, beauty, and community; this generously illustrated book presents the firm’s most striking creations. $45.00 hardcover | November Miró Rivera Architects Building a New Arcadia BY JUAN MIRÓ AND MIGUEL RIVERA The award-winning work of Miró Rivera Architects is explored through texts, drawings, and original photography; from the Circuit of the Americas to Vertical House, this richly illustrated book offers a unique approach to understanding architecture and urbanism in Texas and beyond. $65.00 hardcover | December Letters 2 Bitter Pill Luke A. Gatta, Sarahn M. Wheeler Easy Chair 5 You Say You Want a Revolution Kevin Baker Harper’s Index 9 Readings 11 Ad Nauseam Tim Hwang Deep Space 19 Fauci, we have a problem Bleat House a goat man goes on the lam Person Blanca Varela Whine On You Crazy Diamond the unmasked avenger battles intolerance Eyes on the Prize making the case for buttheads Fata Morgana Wolfgang Koeppen And . . . Julie Blackmon, Margaret Curtis, Peter Uka, Devin Yalkin, and a sheriff pledges to serve and insurrect Forum 24 WHAT’S IN A VOTE? Danielle Allen, Jamelle Bouie, Jason Brennan, Electoral politics in an ailing democracy Sarah Smarsh, Astra Taylor From the Archive 37 The Sultan of Sewers William S. Burroughs Letter from the Bekaa Valley 38 STATE OF EXCEPTION Alexander Dziadosz Lebanon’s cruel solution to the refugee crisis Miscellany 50 THE GROVE Ben Lerner Letter from Washington 53 THE ENEMIES BRIEFCASE Andrew Cockburn Secret powers and the presidency Poetry 58 THREE POEMS Tracy K. Smith Essay 61 MAKING MEANING Garth Greenwell Against “relevance” in art Essay 69 IS AMERICA UNGOVERNABLE? David Bromwich The difference between protest and reform Story 78 NEW POETS Michael Deagler Reviews 89 NEW BOOKS Lidija Haas BECAUSE GOD DID NOT RELAX Christopher Beha The difficult pleasures of William Gaddis A SWING AND AMIS Leo Robson On the perils of novelizing one’s life Puzzle 103 Richard E. Maltby Jr. Findings 104 FOUNDED IN 1850 / VOL. 341, NO. 2046 NOVEMBER 2020 HARPERS.ORG m a g a z i n e Cover design by Tina Smith 2 HARPER’S MAGAZINE / NOVEMBER 2020 John R. MacArthur, President and Publisher Editor Christopher Beha Deputy Editor Rachel Poser Managing Editor Stephanie McFeeters Senior Editors Christopher Carroll, Timothy Farrington, Joe Kloc, Katherine Ryder, Matthew Sherrill Art Director Kathryn Humphries Editor Emeritus Lewis H. Lapham Washington Editor Andrew Cockburn Poetry Editor Ben Lerner Web Editor Violet Lucca Associate Editors Elizabeth Bryant, Will Stephenson Associate Art Director and Designer Lydia Chodosh Assistant Editors Will Augerot, Joseph Frischmuth, Adrian Kneubuhl, Shirley Ngozi Nwangwa, John Sherman Art Researcher Alyssa Coppelman Editorial Interns Jensen Davis, Currie Engel, Lauren Fadiman, Annie Geng Contributing Editors Andrew J. Bacevich, Kevin Baker, Dan Baum, Tom Bissell, Joshua Cohen, John Crowley, Wes Enzinna, Tanya Gold, Gary Greenberg, Jack Hitt, Edward Hoagland, Scott Horton, Frederick Kaufman, Garret Keizer, Mark Kingwell, Walter Kirn, Rafil Kroll- Zaidi, Gideon Lewis- Kraus, Richard Manning, Clancy Martin, Duncan Murrell, Rachel Nolan, Vince Passaro, Francine Prose, Ellen Rosenbush, Jeff Sharlet, Christine Smallwood, Zadie Smith, Rebecca Solnit, Matthew Stevenson, Barrett Swanson, John Edgar Wideman Contributing Artists Olive Ayhens, Lisa Elmaleh, Lena Herzog, Aaron Huey, Samuel James, Steve Mumford, Richard Ross, Tomas van Houtryve, Danijel Žeželj Vice President and General Manager Lynn Carlson Vice President, Circulation Shawn D. Green Vice President, Marketing and Communications Giulia Melucci Vice President, Advertising Jocelyn D. Giannini Virginia Navarro, Assistant to the Publisher Kim Lau, Senior Accountant Eve Brant, Office Manager Courtney Carlson, Marketing Assistant Cameron French, Advertising Operations Coordinator Advertising Sales: (212) 420- 5773;