Katy Burnett

Katy Burnett is a writer and translator based in Oakland, California.

Articles by Katy Burnett:


Commodity Theater

in Issue 101 | Facing the Thing (Jul 2023)

Traditional narrative structures no longer apply in a society where the only certainty is perpetual crisis, and art must change to accommodate this reality. To Brecht, the catharsis that theatergoers look for in a drama is a distraction from this materialist vision.

Three Angels

in Issue 96 | Prophecies (Jan 2021)

Laura tries to record the things she sees in her diary. After her death, the record will turn into evidence, but even then it’s not clear what these visions mean or who they’re for, whether they’re flashbacks or premonitions or whether it’s wrong to use linear time to describe them at all.

The Next Spring Like This Will Be in a Hundred Years

in Issue 95 | Symptoms (Jul 2020)

By April 30, 1945, Nazi Germany has all but officially surrendered. The Reich has abandoned its citizens, throwing a contemptuous backward glance before collapsing entirely. Kluge tells the story through a series of fictional vignettes, anecdotes, interviews, and other ephemera.