![Now That He Has Your Attention...](https://cdn.magzter.com/1373332177/1682116567/articles/Sq3uEqt931682336207309/NOW-THAT-HE-HAS-YOUR-ATTENTION.jpg)
WHEN NANA KWAME ADJEI-BRENYAH was in high school and college, he worked at a clothing store in the Palisades Center mall in West Nyack, where he spent his lunches and time between shifts at the Barnes & Noble upstairs—reading half a story, going back to work, then returning on his next break with the words still alive in his head. There were the literary magazines he discovered on the racks, like Ploughshares and The Paris Review. Wells Tower’s surreal, tough short-story collection, Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned. On one break, he read Kahlil Gibran, whose poem “On Houses,” from the 1923 collection The Prophet, arrived with its description of dream-filled bodies and comfort-filled homes as an invitation to engage; a few years before, his mom had lost her job as a kindergarten teacher and the bank foreclosed on their house in nearby Spring Valley.
This story is from the April 24 - May 07, 2023 edition of New York magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the April 24 - May 07, 2023 edition of New York magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
![Blindsided by Breast Cancer](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/3858/1764229/1N0Ed6b0s1721044817332/crp_BLINDSIDED-BY-BREAST-CANCER.jpg)
Blindsided by Breast Cancer
When a mammogram hides a deadly truth.
![Surviving Sweating Season.](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/3858/1764229/mdVMxDjyL1721049197076/SURVIVING-SWEATING-SEASON.jpg)
Surviving Sweating Season.
ON THE OCCASION of this horrifically hot summer, we brought together a particularly sweaty crew of Strategist writers to talk about how they are dealing with the dampness.
![Hip-hop Buddy Comedy](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/3858/1764229/a5w0ublVF1721049026878/HIPHOP-BUDDY-COMEDY.jpg)
Hip-hop Buddy Comedy
An uneven album as astounding as it is annoying.
![The Bear Trap](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/3858/1764229/EL5Vnm3v_1721048889592/THE-BEAR-TRAP.jpg)
The Bear Trap
A season that just can't move forward-like its protagonist.
![Living for the Stage](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/3858/1764229/tbpS0Cl1I1721048733643/LIVING-FOR-THE-STAGE.jpg)
Living for the Stage
The spotlight for Colman Domingo is moving, but it should shine more on his co-stars.
![Glen Powell's Charm Offensive Is Working](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/3858/1764229/-nDSgW9fo1721048188673/GLEN-POWELLS-CHARM-OFFENSIVE-IS-WORKING.jpg)
Glen Powell's Charm Offensive Is Working
He may never transcend Cruise or McConaughey’s level of stardom, but he gets how to play the long game.
![Lev Grossman Takes His Time](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/3858/1764229/Y05oyVNyd1721047939226/LEV-GROSSMAN-TAKES-HIS-TIME.jpg)
Lev Grossman Takes His Time
The best-selling author of The Magicians trilogy is back with his first book for adults in ten years, The Bright Sword. All it took to finish was a transpacific move.
![Going Derry Free](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/3858/1764229/luHfYnuQP1721047607907/GOING-DERRY-FREE.jpg)
Going Derry Free
Saoirse-Monica Jackson on life after Derry Girls and her role in a new Netflix comedy series.
![Here Comes Din Tai Fung, Finally](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/3858/1764229/evaYkh75S1721047500689/HERE-COMES-DIN-TAI-FUNG-FINALLY.jpg)
Here Comes Din Tai Fung, Finally
Some famous soup dumplings arrive on Broadway.
![THE BEST RESTAURANTS OF 2024-SO FAR](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/3858/1764229/4rYFpZF-P1721047060265/THE-BEST-RESTAURANTS-OF-2024SO-FAR.jpg)
THE BEST RESTAURANTS OF 2024-SO FAR
SIX MONTHS INTO THE YEAR, Some stocktaking is in order. Our restaurant critic and \"Underground Gourmet\" columnist have each gone back through their Notes apps and blurry, surreptitiously snapped reference photos to see how the city's newest restaurants are shaping up. These are the eight spots they've loved most up to now.