I held myself open to an unknown future.

—Ki’en Debicki

This issue reflects on the notion of the speculative as a site of resistance and hope, turning specifically to the potential of feminist worlds and modes of being to create real forms of political resistance and solidarity. Working through the strange temporalities of the “could have been” and the “not quite yet,” the works in this issue weave through the speculative potential of apocalypses and utopias; Afro- and Indigenous futurisms; performances and their remembered traces; embodied archives and practices of care. 

Featuring new fiction and reflections by Joshua Whitehead and Ki’en Debicki on gender expansiveness, Indigenous joy, and futurisms; a feature conversation between artist Carole Itter and Literary Editor Deanna Fong on the nature of undocumented performance, accompanied by an art folio of Itter’s recent work; artist projects by Maria Hupfield and Eve Tagny refiguring notions of site and body through fashion, wearable sculpture, and choreographic entanglements; a conversation between Robin Gray and Associate Editor Susan Blight on the importance of Indigenous naming practices to processes of rematriation and restorative justice; and new writing by Renee Gladman, Bridget Huh, Aisha Sasha John, Amanda Merpaw, Heather Simeney MacLeod, Catriona Strang, Subhanya Sivajothy, and Christina Vega-Westhoff.

Pre-order a single copy of the issue below, or subscribe today to receive Issue 4.4 along with our forthcoming Fall 2025 issue.