Essays Archives - Believer Magazine

Selected Essays

Natalie So

Aristocrat Inc.

1. On a Wednesday morning during an unbearable late-summer heat wave, I sat in the back seat of my mother’s car, my three-month-old baby beside me, as we cruised along the ...

Paul Collins

Why Can’t My Son Vote?

My son doesn’t ask for stories at bedtime anymore, but he still wants me next to him when he’s falling asleep. “This is the craziest elephant ride I’ve ever taken,” Morgan ...

Will McGrath

American Boys

Listen to this story: Cedar-Riverside was humming. The boys were looking fresh—Frenchy with his hair twisted up, Saiid’s beard trimmed tight—everybody edged up and ...

Amanda Fortini

The People of Las Vegas

1. It’s February in Las Vegas, and because I have managed to step on my glasses and break them, as I do at least once a year, I have gone to the LensCrafters at ...

Jordan Kisner

Las Marthas

The dresses take a year to sew, and the girls spend a year learning how to wear them: how to glide, how to float their arms out so they never touch the skirts, how to hold ...