My short story “Refugees,” coming out in the new issue of Bennington Review, is about a family grappling with the advent of the Trump era. In this piece, I’m attempting to portray how the political and the personal intersect, an ongoing project in my work. These days, it seems almost impossible to ignore what’s happening in the news. As artists, how do we capture this unique cultural moment in ways that have lasting impact on future readers who have their own concerns? I believe the answer is not to hide from topical references, but rather to intertwine them with character, to find the nuance that is so often lacking in the public discourse.