Forty-fourth Issue

Amsterdam Quarterly received a record-breaking number of submissions for its forty-fourth issue, whose theme is Between Hope & Despair. AQ44 brought in work that was chosen in four genres: poetry, fiction, memoir, and reviews. This work came from nine men and nine women, from six countries, in three continents. Their work covers people and conflicts from the ancient and to the modern, including struggles with physical or mental health, upbringing, marital or immigration status, war, crime, or the changing climate.

Headlining this issue are memoirs by Lucinda Guard Crofton and your editor about their struggles to become writers and journalists. Unforgettable stories about losing a relative, bad relationships, breakups, and relatives with Alzheimers were sent in by Caleb Coy, Madhumati Dutta, Mary Granfield, Ross McQueen, and Guy Russell. There is also heart-rending poetry about abuse, a lost relationship, war, murder, the environment, and life-threatening illnesses by Jane Blanchard, Simon Brod, Andy Craven-Griffiths, Allyson Dowling, Jennifer L. Freed, Claudia Gary, Hollis Kurman, Monique van Maare, Marcus Slingsby, Dick Westerheimer, and Mantz Yorke.

Lastly, forthcoming on 1 October 2025 are reviews of two exciting new books by former AQ contributors: Jennifer Clark’s Intercede: Saints for Concerning Occasions and Amlanjyoti Goswami’s A Different Story.