The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes On

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Named a Most Anticipated Book by LitHub, Vulture, Time, and a PW 2022 Holiday Gift Pick, this poetry collection by acclaimed poet Franny Choi explores the theme of apocalypses—historical, present, and future. Choi’s third book delves into the responsibilities we hold towards each other and envisions collective survival amid a world often deemed dystopian. It emphasizes that for marginalized peoples, the apocalypse has already manifested in various forms. With lyrical and tonal finesse, the poems traverse time, addressing topics from Korean comfort women in World War II to the looming climate crisis and future children's experiences in a museum. They investigate narrative distances and queer linearity, oscillating between the microscopic and the universal. As Choi grapples with the grief and distances of our apocalyptic reality, she also imagines the potential for togetherness among Black, Asian, and other marginalized communities, as well as between living beings and the children shaped by calamity. Merging speculative imagination with heightened musicality, this collection charts new paths toward hope in the aftermaths and envisions a future of collective resilience.