Simpsonistas: Vol. 5 To this age of frenzied, moronic book banning and noxious culture wars, we offer the strongest response right here, in our programs whose impact will resonate in ways beyond what we can anticipate over the years to come. Our response: take a look at this work. You will be enlightened by it. And you will be better for it, that is, if you immerse yourself imaginatively in the struggles that take place on the printed page. On this score, make sure you read Andrew David King’s remarkable essay, included in this anthology, “My Life had Stood—a Loaded Gun…,” the title drawn from one of the greatest Emily Dickinson poems. —Series Editor, Joseph Di Prisco, from the Preface of Vol. 5 Other celebrated authors found in these pages include: Manuel Munoz, Joyce Carol Oates, David Means, Mark Danner, Ian S. Maloney, and Carla Madden. In addition, the work of several Jack Hazard Fellows appear within the book, such as Sahar Mustafah, Emily Harnett, and Kate McQuade. These prominent writers are published alongside two of our Starn Fellows, one Simpson Fellow and a teacher, including: Carla Blackwell, Camila Elizabet Aguirre Aguilar, Andrew David King, and David Wood. We are honored to include writing from students in our Simpson Writing Workshops and Iris Starn Writing Workshops, and the particularly unforgettable pieces composed by teenage students from juvenile hall. These young men participated in the Simpson Writing Workshop conducted by New Literary Project in partnership with the University of California, Berkeley, English Department.