Esopus 23 opened with “On the Value of Literature,”  a 10,000-word essay by acclaimed Norwegian novelist Karl Ove Knausgaard (My Struggle) in the form of a 16-page removable booklet. We covered all the angles of artist Mickalene Thomas’s richly detailed multipage collage incorporating die-cuts, embossing, specialty varnishes, and a perforated removable insert, and spoke with Hinterland Studio’s Raphael van Lierop about the years-long creative process behind the award-winning survivalist video game The Long Dark. Blade Runner screenwriter Hampton Fancher created film treatments inspired by Esopus subscriber submissions, and father-and-daughter duo George and Fiamma Cochrane (with help from artist Richard Nonas and author William Sutton) shared their graphic novel Lost in Music.

The issue closed with an audio CD including tracks inspired by “close call” experiences by Kristin Andreassen, The Big Bright, Gabriel Birnbaum, Dollshot, Colin Gilmore, The Kickstand Band, Anthony LaMarca, Jo Lawry, Lemolo, Darren Solomon, Trees Take Ease, Grant Widmer, and YC the Cynic.