Image Journal

Art. Faith. Mystery.

09/03/2026

From the culture essay “Unsolvable Cases” by Patrick Madden:

“A work of art (a book, a movie, a painting, a song) is, among other things, a vehicle for ideas, all sorts of ideas, even if the idea is ‘religion is just a system of control,’ which is one of the ideas espoused and advanced by Hugh Grant’s character, the menacing Mr. Reed, in Heretic, but perhaps not an idea that the film itself propounds. It’s a little muddy. Viewers may find in the film confirmation for their biases, for or against religion, or evidence for or against the existence of God, or maybe enough critical engagement with the messiness of faith to get them pondering ‘without any irritable reaching after fact or reason,’ as Keats recommended. In other words, maybe one can watch and engage deeply without needing an ultimate resolution. This, I think, is the case for me, which may be one reason I have felt no need to plant a flag for or against the movie.”

Read the rest of "Unsolvable Cases" here: https://buff.ly/WgbJn6v

09/01/2026

Image on the go!

Image issue 129 includes material on music, humanity, and sacramental art—invite Sam Bailey, Kyle Abbott Smith, Eileen Ryan, and more to join you on your commute.

Are you new to Image? Give Image a try and receive your print copy, plus full online access today! Subscribe here: https://buff.ly/hAmUlam

08/28/2026

From “Swarm” by Blu Mehari:

In the future, someone must invent
August for the insects. They will need
To be taught the end of warmth
And then the movement south.
All the rest is lost—jar of white
Nail clippings, brown foot protruding
From a mangled windowsill. We all mistake
The plainest snowscapes for mimics
Of our mothers’ names or a tree branch
Lived beneath a few hours
Out of every year.

Read the rest of "Swarm" here: https://buff.ly/Gi6WtrW

08/24/2026

What's on your nightstand?

Image issue 129 includes poetry on grace, gratitude, and eternal life—wind down with the words of Jennifer Atkinson, Lawrence Joseph, Lydia Harris, and more at the end of your day.

Are you new to Image? Give Image a try and receive your print copy, plus full online access today! Subscribe here: https://buff.ly/SALSMUm

08/21/2026

From “Calling the Phoenix” by Hilary Biehl:

“The artifacts with which you hope to summon
the bird are unassuming—pinecones, twigs,
a lump of dust the breeze keeps trying to steal—

common things to welcome the uncommon.
You chant some words. The morning gently drags
its plumage down the sidewalk. This is real,

but you are disappointed, wanting clearly
demarcated spectacle.”

Read the rest of "Calling the Phoenix" here: https://buff.ly/QDG5ctS

08/18/2026

Image looks great on your coffee table!

Image issue 129 includes material on purpose and discovery—let Miral al-Tahawy, Lia Purpura, M.I. Devine, and more join your living room conversation.

Are you new to Image? Give Image a try and receive your print copy, plus full online access today! Subscribe here: https://buff.ly/aeitdg7

08/13/2026

From “Lookers” by KC McGinnis:

“While following a local representative on a pre-election tour of some area businesses, I began to take note of the way he was interacting with his constituents. He seemed to be going out of his way to touch them: to grab their arms, to vigorously laugh and clap their shoulders, to give energetic high-fives and long, chummy handshakes. I couldn’t be sure, but I suspected I knew what he was doing. I had seen it before. At some point he had noticed, or had been advised, that photojournalists like me prefer to take pictures of active, physical touch. He was acting this way, at least in part, because I was there. ...the people we photograph simply behave differently around a camera, we know that we can never present a fully neutral, objective depiction of reality as it is in itself. We can only ever photograph the world as it is when a camera is present.”

Read more here: https://buff.ly/OxpQy13

08/11/2026

Going on vacation? Tuck Image into your travel bag!

Image issue 129 includes material on seasons of transition—let George Saunders, KC McGinnis, Miral al-Tahawy, and more accompany you to your next destination.

Don’t already subscribe? Give Image a try and receive your print copy, plus full online access today here: https://buff.ly/Nqvu7tF

08/07/2026

From “My Lost Saints” by James Davis May:

I lost my lost saints in pieces. With some,
their voices eroded slowly then quickly like graveyards
on seaside cliffs crumbling into ocean. Some
began shaking: their hands, then arms, then legs.
Some stood up when they could not stand
and fell because it was too late for the miracles
they could not perform. Some waited too long
to see the doctor. All arrived at the hospital
too late. One did not return with the martins he loved
to the churches of Krakow. One unspooled
tire tracks in the snow like a long staff of sad music
the night he drove away to try to no longer be a saint.
Some turned out to be so evil they’ve been rewritten
as monsters, devils, people I wish I had never met.

Read the rest of "My Lost Saints" here: https://buff.ly/BYZlMFA

07/17/2026

From “The Ark, the Tomb, the Altar, the Bridal Chamber” by Li-Young Lee:

We stood facing each other, our bed between us.
Together we said, Now is evening.
Soon will be night.
Who will roll the stone
from the door of the tomb for us?
Let’s make us a basket of bulrushes
daubed with pitch, and climb inside.
You pointed to the headboard and said,
There are the headwaters.
Let me cross over to you.
I pointed to the footboard and said,
There is the abyss.
Let me cross over to you.
And we remembered out loud
how Noah and his family entered the ark.
God sealed them in.

Read the full poem in issue 129 here: https://buff.ly/JtPYdch

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